The Art Of Mortality
by SempiternalDreamer
Summary: "You're a Grim Reaper, a god. What could you possibly want with a mortal?" Her eyes lit with an emotional anger. "Are you saying gods aren't capable of love?" He returned, to which her emerald eyes met with his golden gaze. It was a curse that revived the dead legend. A legend which continued upon both god and mortal whom now stood in the night, wondering what was to make of them.
1. Prelude-Myths Fade To Legends

_There is no sun_ _  
_ _Yet there is light_ _  
_ _There is no sky_ _  
_ _Yet there is night_ _  
_ _There is no air_ _  
_ _Yet there is life_ _  
_ _And within these words, lies the greatest sympathy of death_

A single breath was passed as the darkened petal took a fall upon its natural domain. Gloomy yet curious eyes studied upon this mythical treasure that was held within soft dying hands.

This rose had been protecting her from the first appearance. The rose itself counted on it, for this mortal was far too gorgeous for a short life. But that was it. This rose had rewarded it's beloved a long prospering protection. It wouldn't go any further than that.

It wouldn't be the first mortal who was blessed by the dark rose. For she was another gift from Life, the everlasting story of Life and Death of which continued upon this angelic mortal. Though Life's gift sweetened Death's non-existent heart, it was also the greatest curse he could've indulged. Because life was a cursed gift for Death, coming and going, but never staying. All Death could do was enjoy his gift once more, before the irony took over.

But the irony was already starting for his beloved mortal, and all he could do was sit in place as she studied upon his darkened petals.

Black roses may have been considered a legend, a made up representation of something fearful and solemn. What made this mortal beautiful was that she never seemed to mind that. The curiosity in her eyes basked within its alluring radiance without one sentiment of fear. For this dark rose adorned of eternity, held all the beauty she could ever imagine.

Another petal took a fall.

This rose had been part of her since it first appeared at her garden as a simple lone rose. It had been years since then, and this obscure beauty had been gleaming with life ever since. She was only a mortal who possessed something far immortal than her very nature. A living, breathing black rose which had grown alone, but at the same time, with her.

She guessed it was some sort of miracle. This embodiment of death had appeared years ago, yet here it was sitting within her dying grasp. Despite the years that became her life, death was never a concept of fear to her. In fact, if it was possible to say…She loved it.

And so, her final breath would be taken upon one wish, to meet the concept of death in his purest form. The final memory the rose would experience from its love, would be the final breath she laid upon his last petal. Just as she asked and just as it was meant to be, the rose lost its last petal…only to fall onto its natural domain.

Death wasn't meant for love or desire. He was a reaper of souls, the sempiternal existence which led the souls of those who had left Earth realm. Love was something a creature like him would or should never do, for it was pointless for an immortal. But as time goes by, even Death can get lonely. But alas, his chance was gone and his beloved mortal was granted her place above with the angels as a second chance at life. If he would've possessed a heart, it would have shattered once more. By the time he passed her pure soul onto its next domain, he knew she would find her true place. For Life's angelic souls, were always breathtakingly rare.

Though it all came to an end for Death, who never found it within himself to love again. It became a foolishness to him, mainly due to his status as an immortal being of terror. But he felt love, it wasn't present within him but instead a part of his soul. Never would this piece of his soul be acknowledged, not until Death was coming to an end.

Anyone could see the irony in the next part of Death's story. It was the miracle of bringing life to death. It was to create love from pure emptiness.

Death's son was beautiful and he wasn't like any grim reaper that had existed. He was an immortal of pure inte-,

"…."

"*Sigh*" A pale hand ended the story as it brought the book to a close. The horrendous mask was brought back to the obscure cloak and proceeded to cover the shadow colored face.

Death stood up from the chair and left the book back on the sacred pedestal. He knew of his story. He knew he couldn't forget. But what haunted Death now was not loneliness or the fact that he gave up love. It was his son…

Because this young reaper was an embodiment of love itself. His roses were glowing white with love and dark with desire. But he was cursed, and it would take love for Death to see the burden he had never acknowledged.

Life's heart would eventually kill Death…


	2. Chapter 1: The Concept Of Death

Devious mortal eyes glared back at the carbon scythe which stood frozen before his figure. If he wouldn't have been consumed within insanity, fear would've constricted his body. But in reality, the fear was felt from the opposite angle, the young god whom held the accursed scythe.

"Reap his soul!"

No reply rather than anxious breathing was made toward the hoarse voice that scraped along the walls.

"Son, you must reap his soul. Now!"

"I can't father. I won't!"

Shaky breaths evaded as the scythe was slowly brought to withdraw. The drowned mortal paid no fear and fled the scene in a flash, leaving the two shadows chasing after him. But perhaps it was too late. The older god could do nothing as the target got what he wanted.

Golden eyes could only watch so much, as their failure had caused something far too deteriorating for the soul and mind. Even after the older god had reaped the insane soul, nothing could have been done for the young reaper's faulty mistake.

"Father...He...He killed-,"

"Disregard your mistake. It was only meant to be."

"But the woman. She...I can't forgive myself."

"The life of a reaper is hard my son. All will be fine, I assure you. But promise me one thing my son."

Young golden eyes met the menacing mask before him. They were filled with a haunting terror that the older god could only imagine to understand. A breath was taken, and the final words of the night were spoken.

"Never show yourself to a mortal. Unless you will, reap their soul."

'

'

A million pieces of the sky shun upon golden irises. It had been three months since the horror he had experienced. Yet, it still haunted him faintly.

The life of a grim reaper was all it could be imagined to be. Dark, haunting, terrifying...Or maybe that's just the way he saw it, and he was the son of the Grim Reaper himself, Death the Kid. But for some reason, he wasn't like his father. He knew why, it was only obviously told to him. There was this object, this tool within his chest. He learned to call it a heart. He was granted this so called "heart" for the better of the world. That's what his father had told him. He was supposed to create the world anew using the power of this heart, and though this young reaper strived to accomplish that, he couldn't help but feel alone.

His eyes kept above, to the millions of stars that decorated their darkened canvas. The earth's magnificent beauty never failed to comfort him. It was a second home to him, this world known as Earth realm. All he could ever want was right here, because being a child of Death requires some time away from the underworld.

Kid sighed and stood up, causing the dark cloak around him to sway in the nightly breeze. He gave one last glance of the city in front of him. This city known as Las Vegas was typically his natural choice of vacation. His father Death, adored this place for a strange reason. He never spoke of why, but he even had the courtesy of placing this city under his prior protection.

He sighed, swaying his hand over the air and creating a portal. The young reaper allowed himself to slip through and found himself within his room.

"I should check in with father."

He shuffled the cloak off and left himself only to the black suit that adorned his body. He created another portal but this one led him to the gloomy atmosphere of his father's domain. The Death Room. It was decorated with the graves of all souls and endowed with a crimson atmosphere. Typically, death was written all over it and this young reaper had the courtesy of calling this his domain soon enough.

A single mirror was placed at the center of the room. The older reaper, Death, stood in front as he held white orbs in his hands and led them to disappearance. He took notice of his son and turned to face him.

"Kid. What brings you here?"

Kid cleared his throat and met with his father. The two simply exchanged looks and faced the mirror which showed Death whatever was happening up on earth.

"How is everything?"

"Normal." Death answered. He glowered over at his son in attempt to read his expression. This son of his always had the same bitter attitude that it drove Death crazy at times. Death cleared his throat and spoke. "How was Earth realm today?"

Kid pursed his lips in thought. "It was nice. Everything is lively as it always is."

Death shifted uncomfortably and faced his young son. "Indeed. You do know you've been spending more time out there than with your father right?"

Kid narrowed his gaze and glared into the mirror which was now showing a series of humans gathering and mingling throughout the night streets of Vegas. He held in a small chuckle at the thought that his father was in love with this city.

Death continued and tried to catch his son's attention. "Son."

Kid dropped his expression and sighed. "I know father. But it's hard to be here when there is nothing to...do." Kid bitterly responded.

"You have yet to understand your heritage son. I realize that you need time to acknowledge the lives of humans and such. But you also need to learn the ways of the grim reaper. You're young, and need to understand soon enough." Death pulled another white orb from his cloak.

The young reaper nodded at his father's reasoning as he examined the way the older reaper passed on souls. The life of a reaper was filled with complexity. They were one of the very mysterious creatures that impacted human life without the humans knowing it themselves. A grim reaper's one and only task was to protect. Protect the living and protect the dead. They were to guide the souls of both life and death and forever lead every soul to sempiternal* peace.

Young golden eyes reeled in on the sight. A whisper to sooth the soul, and a final shine of the soul as it left for its next domain. He turned away and glared over at the dark atmosphere around him.

Kid was caught off guard as his father lend out his hand with a fresh soul. He hesitantly took the soul in his grasp and examined the soul with curiosity. It was warm and loving, the complete opposite of what it was supposed to feel. "This soul was lost." The words solemnly escaped his lips as he touched his forehead to the white orb. He wasn't sure what it was, but a sentiment of calmness passed through him and he found himself lost within the soul's radiance.

"Indeed my son. But even lost souls must be passed on. They'll find their domain and have peace." Death peered down at the boy who was soundly embracing the soul with no attention on his father's words. "Son, let go. The soul must be passed on."

Kid opened his eyes in a daze and faced the soul with uncertainty. "I can't father. This soul still has life to it. It's not ready yet." The boy knew he set off a disappointed nerve, but something about this soul was different. It was warm and alive, unlike all the other souls he had passed on which only brought sorrow and grief. He couldn't let this soul go, not yet.

"Son. Are you disobeying me?"

Kid didn't answer or meet his father's masked face for that matter. But the expression on the boy's face said it all.

Death sighed, taking the soul from his child and placing it back in his robes.

Kid kept quiet as he knew that he had upset the older reaper. It wasn't quite a new thing for him, the young reaper always had some sort of disagreement towards his father's actions. "Please forgive me father. I'll get out of your hair for the time being." Kid went ahead and led himself out of the room.

Death let out a silent sigh. Kid was harder on himself then his own father. It was a hassle for Kid to deal with these things, and Death knew that well. But Kid needed to balance out his emotion with his reaper heritage. Otherwise, he was going to fall into the wrong destiny.

'

The young reaper went for his only escape. He went for his hovering skateboard and left for Earth realm. No one said that being a reaper didn't have its benefits.

Gliding over the city caused him to widen his eyes in ecstasy once more. This place was a living paradise. Hundreds of humans glittered along the streets as happily as ever. He chuckled delightfully and made his way over a park. Since humans couldn't see him, courtesy of death god magic, he was free to roam around and observe. Though it was night time, hardly anyone was around this particular area.

Well, until he heard a soft voice. It was her…

She was a young emerald eyed girl. Kid had only seen her around a few week ago. But she was someone he had never came to recognize in the soul. All other humans were so alike within the soul. But she shun differently, and he always pondered on what it was that caused this difference. Her aura was hardly even visible.

Kid stood in place as she walked by with a solemn look on her face. She was alone as always, with a pair of earphones in one ear and a book cradled within her arms. His expression dropped as her wave of empathy hit him. She was sad, it wasn't a new feeling he had felt from her. But it always hurt him to feel negative empathy from humans. He followed her throughout the park and onto the suburban sidewalks that were barely occupied. It would be dangerous to walk alone at this time at night, but this strange girl always met with only herself. She stopped and Kid kept his distance. Perhaps she felt the coldness radiating off of him.

She turned and looked straight at him, and for a second he felt his heart jump. Was his invisibility gone?

He didn't move and she seemed to walk forward until she knelt down right in front of him and reached a hand toward something along the floor. Kid backed up and watched as she brought a leaf in her hand.

"What is this?"

Kid widened his eyes as he realized it was something darkened and round. Sort of like a flower… He held in a confused breath and examined as she studied it. It wasn't long before she tucked it into her book and went off.

He inhaled as she left. She was downright mysterious, a mystery that brought the heart in his chest to jump. He let a slight smile make its way upon his face as he got back to his skateboard and went off to take in the life of the Earth once more.

'

* * *

 **Alrighty everybody, I am back with yet another story for you lovelies. Hopefully you guys like it and let me know what you think so far. I plan to make this story my best one yet so let's see how it goes :)**

 **Sempiternal- Everlasting**

 **~SempiternalDreamer**


	3. Chapter 2: The Fear Of A Soul

Don't fear the Reaper

If there was anything this mortal didn't feel, it was fear itself. She flipped the pages of the old encyclopedia about mythical creatures, coming across various myths ranging from Big Foot to the Goat man. It wasn't long before she made it to her least favorite page…

"The Grim Reaper…"

A frustrated sigh escaped her lips as she gawked onto the page. It wasn't fear that departed her from this being, but instead the fact of what he stood for. Death was something that came to every living being at one point. One of the many theories of the Reaper, was that he appeared to those who were to meet death, and in sense he would be the reason for their death, hence his name. That's what caught her negative thoughts toward this myth. Because if the Grim Reaper chose who was next to go, why did he have to choose the innocent?

'

'

The sound of the morning alarm clock rung through her ears yet again. It rang and rang just like always. This time it seemed a little earlier though. The only problem was that this particular alarm couldn't be snoozed.

"Maka! Maka! Maka! Wake up! It's time for school!"

She groaned and dragged the pillow over her head to shut off the annoying sound of her father's voice. But it didn't work well once he lifted the pillow and stood before her.

"Alright. Alright. I'm up..."

"Good. Now hurry, I have to be at work ten minutes early today."

Maka rubbed her eyes and dragged herself out of bed. She played her usual morning routine to get ready and topped herself with a thick sweater to keep warm in the pre-winter weather.

School was as usual. She left her dad's car and went off inside. The albino was at his locker as always, with his gang of rebels just like himself. Maka had to get through them in order to reach her locker.

"Well look who it is."

"If it isn't miss bookworm."

Maka chuckled as she walked passed them and got to her locker. "Miss bookworm? C'mon Soul, I think you can do better than that."

"Well if you'd rather me be like everyone else..."

"I'm kidding." Maka took her books and closed the locker. "So what's up?"

Soul rustled a hand through his spiky hair while the rest of his friends stood around on their phones. "Nothin much. Same old."

"Yeah. Same here."

The albino noticed the drop of joy within her expression. He cleared his throat. "So are-, I mean. Is everything okay?"

Maka inhaled and forced a smile. "Yeah don't worry. I already told you not to worry."

"If you say so. Well you'd better get going, if you wanna be the first to class."

Maka took a peek at the clock. "Right. I'll see you later."

She went off without paying attention to anyone else. High school was a battleground for some people. Not exactly like those lame cheesy high school movies but, it could get to that point at times. She walked into her first class early as always. That's when she saw the stupid brainiac Ox along with his team of annoying geeks.

"Late yet again Albarn."

Maka clenched her teeth down and made her way to her usual spot. She didn't bother facing the fools and instead went for her book.

"Damn." Maka cursed under her breath as she took notice that she had forgot to switch out her novel with the one from her locker. She shrugged and continued with it anyway. It was a novel she had read dozens of times, but she'd read it a dozen times more because it was just that amazing to her. She opened up to her left off page from the previous night and noticed the darkened mystery that was trapped in between the pages.

She knit her eyebrows and studied it. Yesterday it was too dark to make out but now she realized it was a flower petal. Black, which was strange. She thought it must've been painted or burnt but it looked too real for either one of those suggestions. She was about to put it down when an abrupt spark of coldness hit her and the world stopped around her. A sudden darkness filled her, causing her to tremble at its core. It was followed by a strong wave of fear, but it was welcoming and warm, making her want to stay. She shook and came back to reality. She was sure it was just a hallucination from not getting enough sleep last night. After all, Maka had taught herself well to rid her soul of fear and so refused to fall into any state of terror. The petal was laid back with the bookmark and Maka read until the class bell rang. It was then when she braced herself for hell.

It was only twenty minutes into class when everyone decided to complain about the test that was to happen at the end of the following week. Somehow, the conversation had made it to how much of a "bitch" the teacher Miss Marie had been and Maka insisted on defending her.

Now it was Maka's turn yet again to get the crap from other students she had grown accustomed too.

"Can you just shut up? It's not like this is anything new to me." Maka responded to the pink haired rebel girl Kim.

"Playing emo now. Tsk, tiny tits get weirder every day."

Maka bit down the inside of her lip to keep herself from saying anything more. It was a good thing Soul stepped in otherwise she would've erupted.

"You know if I was a selfish money loving tick like you, I wouldn't really use that as an excuse to be cool. Especially when creepy googly-eyes over there never seems to leave you alone." Soul turned toward Ox and cracked a chuckle.

Kim responded to the comeback with a dirty look and didn't say anything in return. To which Maka thanked Soul with a small smile and waited for class to end. It was like she said, nothing new. She had took so much already that now it hardly phased her. But at the same time, Maka grew a burning fire inside of herself. She took notice of it at times, the anger that she felt prior to stepping into class. The gloomy state of mind always managed to hit her by the end of the day as well. Maka assumed it was due to the stressful events that had been happening. But those harsh sentiments hadn't left her alone ever since. It wasn't like her honestly.

The bell rang and she headed toward her next class. Soul popped up next to her.

"Hey."

"I'm fine." Maka already assumed the concern he was holding back.

"If you say so. But that wasn't all I was gonna ask."

"What is it?" Maka stopped by the water fountain for a quick drink. She heard Soul clear his throat which usually meant he was being serious.

"I was wondering. There's this new movie in theatres and  
since you've been so stressed out lately-,"

Maka turned to meet his gaze, which caused him to scramble with his words.

"Not as a date. Just as friends. You know, just...friends."

Maka kept glaring at him until he brought a blush to his face and rustled his hair. "Dammit Maka stop staring at me like that! You know I'm not trying to hit on you."

The blond chuckled and kept on walking. "Yeah but it's fun to see you lose your cool."

Soul nudged the blond teasingly. Maka was at her next class and Soul had to get to his. Maka exhaled and faced him. "I guess that'd be alright though. As long as my dad doesn't get into protective father mode."

"Geez your dad..." Soul made a sour face. "Tell him to stop getting his chonies in a bunch. He already knows I'm not trouble."

"Yeah but you know he can be an idiot at times."

The next bell went off. "Well I'll text ya alright?"

"Sure. I'll see you later Soul." Maka departed the white haired teen and made her way into class yet again. At least this one was somewhat interesting considering the biology teacher was a complete lunatic.

'

'

Kid had spent a majority of the day alongside his father. It was quiet as usual, with very little questions asked and answers given little attention. It wasn't that Kid was bored or ignorant of the rules of a reaper. He actually felt no desire to have those things in knowledge. Kid felt a need for change from traditional values. He believed there was always a different way to do things. Always.

"You do understand the limitations that we are abided to? Be sure of that, otherwise things can get out of hand when reaping souls."

Kid sighed. "Father I understand the concepts. You've explain them a dozen times already."

"Then what else would you like to know? We've been over reaping and the likes, you never seem to ask me anything for yourself."

Kid ran a hand through his hair and sat up from his golden throne. "Father I respect the traditions of my heritage. But I cannot help but feel like there can be something more. Perhaps a different way of acknowledging the human race."

Death stayed silent and turned over to face the mirror within the center of the room. No words were said until he heard the anxious exhale from the boy behind him. "Son. Would you state to me the three morals of a grim reaper?"

A sigh was made and Kid sat back down in his throne. "One. No reaper shall ever abuse the power of a scythe upon on a mortal. Two. No soul shall ever be left behind no matter the reason, if a soul is lost and found, the soul must be passed on to its next domain. Three. No reaper shall ever show themselves to a mortal, unless their soul will be reaped." Kid sat up firmly and eyed his father, who seemed to be more interested in the mirror rather than anything else.

"All correct. Do you understand the extremity of breaking any of these morals?"

"Yes father. Breaking either or, will result in a curse upon both reaper and mortal. It may even lead to execution of the reaper."

"Exactly."

"But why did I need to recite it? What are you trying to tell me?"

Death turned and faced his son with the gloom stare in his yellow eyes. "Because you wish to acknowledge the humans directly son. The emotion that I have bestowed upon you was meant to guide you to sympathized humans. But that doesn't mean to act as one of them my son. You are a reaper, a god. Not a human."

Kid let the words sink in and he faced down in defeat. He knew he could never win an argument with his father. But he hated the fact that it hurt whenever he was correct. But he dared to push his thoughts to the spotlight and spoke. "And why not? I have flesh and bone like a mortal. I have this thing called a heart."

"Kid. You are meant to govern humans as a reaper. You will sympathize them yes, but that is only so that you won't have to use extreme measures against them."

"What are you talking about extreme measures?" Kid scolded.

"Something you have yet to learn. Kid, enough with this nonsense. You are a reaper. Humans are humans. The only relationship we have is the circle that intertwines us. They fear us and respect us. Nothing more."

Kid continued although he really didn't mean to, he just couldn't hold himself back. "Well what about love?"

The tension sunk down and Death stared at his son in confusion. "What?"

"Has a human ever loved death?"

Death stood solemn as he couldn't find a way to gather his words. He walked up to his son and knelt down next to him. "Humans have indeed been intrigued by death my son. But humans could never understand a death god's complexity. You are meant to love humans not be in love Kid. There is no time for those sort of things."

Kid narrowed his eyes and brought himself to relax. "I know father. I never meant it like that in the first place."

"Good. Please excuse me son, but I have some priorities to take over for the moment."

"Yes father." Kid departed and headed out into his home. There was nothing much to do as always. So he decided to do his daily alignments on all the decorations.

"If a human fears death, then would that mean that we reapers fear life? Could it be a theory?" Kid paced along the hallways pondering his deep thoughts as always. "No. It doesn't make sense. But what could a reaper fear? We have to fear something, everyone has fear. Could it be humans? No… We can't fear death, that'd be ironically obscure." He aligned the paintings at the far end of the hallway and proceeded to the dining hall. "Love? Obviously it would be foolish for an immortal being to love, since mortals don't live forever and other immortals aren't so lovable. But could love be a fear?"

He knit his eyebrows and plopped down on one of the dining chairs, drumming his fingers along the ebony table. "A human can never understand a death god's complexity. So in reality, a human can't love a Reaper because of our inherited differences." Kid pondered on the solemn atmosphere his father had gave him during their last talk.

"Father… What is it that you're hiding from me?"

* * *

 **Thanks for all the lovely feedback everyone. I've been meaning to update this one earlier this week, but I had to get some college matters out of the way and what not. Anyway, I have a whole lot of beautiful ideas packed for this story so I'll try to keep you all at the edge of your seats, or couches, or floor...**

 **~SempiternalDreamer**


	4. Chapter 3: A Soul In The Field Of Envy

"Are you aware?"

"Get out of my thoughts. I have eradicated you."

"Have you Death? Then apparently you haven't a clue what lies within our son."

"What have you done to him!?"

"Me? Oh Death, you are as foolish as ever aren't you? I have done nothing to our lovely son. It is you who has done all, by bestowing your burdens upon him."

"He is not our son. He is mine. You have nothing to do with him." Death continued collecting a mass of souls that scattered along the now abandoned plaza. All it takes is one rogue soul to devote hatred among the rest. All it takes is a rogue soul with an appetite for madness, to cause harm amongst the innocent. He clasped onto the last soul in sight, and tried to ignore the voice within his head.

"He is the coin, while you and I embody the two sides. We are both a part of the young reaper. Your mind, my heart, and his new untouched soul. We are his curses."

"*Sigh* You have no right to interfere with me. Leave my thoughts."

"By denying my heart and bestowing it upon your son, you have only burned a hole in the story of your fate. Death, if you keep fighting yourself, you won't hit anything."

Death stood frozen in his mind. Behind the mask, his eyes sat in a flooding distraught. "What do you mean he is cursed by us?"

"We'll meet once again Death. If not by force, then by demise."

'

"Father I wish to speak with you." Kid came to a stop when he saw the Death Room empty. He knit his brows and walked on toward his father's mirror. It had only been a few hours since his father had excused himself. But it was rare for him to take so long.

Kid painted a secure frown on his face and went on to sit in his throne. The room was a crimson gloom as always and the mirror was portraying events that were happening around the world. Kid crossed a leg over the opposite knee and drummed his fingers along the arm rests. He waited patiently, but precious time was erased in a matter of what seemed like seconds.

"*Sigh*" Kid strolled himself up and walked to the mirror. Using his index finger, he smudged in a sequence of numbers.

42 42 564

He waited as the mirror went static and slowly focused to a familiar cloaked reaper. His father seemed to be busy still, but once the white skull of fear faced back, Kid felt a sentiment of discomfort.

"Son is everything okay? You don't normally page me. You didn't burn down the Death Room did you?"

Kid wasn't too intrigued with the playful tone of the older reaper but he was glad to hear his father upbeat for once. "I'm not quite sure how I can burn down the room father. Even if I tried."

"Well good. Otherwise we'd have to find a new place in the underworld. And we both know how hard that is."

That struck a strange nerve. "Father are you alright?" Kid spoke, raising an eyebrow. "You're not being yourself."

"Even Death needs to have a fun side Kiddo. I'll be back in a few minutes so hold off whatever it is that you need."

Kid kept a weird look on his face as he went back for his throne. His father may have been the frightening entity of the world and the scary monster that takes souls. But in fact, Death was only one thing. Weird.

"What's on your mind Kiddo?" Death popped through the mirror in a rather weird mood, exactly as spoken.

"Father, why the cheery tone?"

"Look son I'm trying to be optimistic for once, just do me a favor and go with it."

Kid smiled enthusiastically. "Sure thing dad. Now if you don't mind, I have a quick question I'd like to ask."

"Yes?"

"The other day while I was up on Earth realm, there was this girl."

"Er, what exactly are you going at Kid?" Death returned to an earnest tone.

"Her soul was different. It wasn't like any other soul I've seen. I can't catch what it is, but her soul is truly different. I was wondering if you could tell me why?"

"Typically Kid, no human soul is alike. They are all different. However as a young reaper, you distinguish human souls all as one. And it's true, human souls do come from the same roots, but each one pronounces unique qualities and such."

"I understand. But her soul was entirely different. I can't catch it but something about her shines different from everyone else."

Death set a distant expression behind the mask. Curiosity was in his son's nature and Death couldn't stop that. But for the first time, he risked leaking out vital information. "Perhaps she has a soul that is beyond human. There are extremely rare souls that find their ways within rare humans alike. Those souls are the greatest treasure anyone could ever possess. It is a grand gift."

"So that's it. Thank you father." Kid stood on his feet and excused himself.

"Wait son." Death called out and eyed his precious son discreetly. He wasn't sure why he called out to the young reaper without reason but Kid glared back and waited for any spoken words. "Never mind. Just be careful if you go to Earth."

"Of course."

'

Maka was almost finishing up with school. She had one class left and the bad part about it was that it was report day. So far she had sat through a dozen boring topics from other students including a half-assed one about monkeys.

As soon as her time came up, she instantly felt relieved that something interesting was finally being acknowledged. But of course, it had to end bad…

"Oh great it's Maka's turn. Wonder what she's gonna talk about this time."

Maka ignored the pathetic murmurs and made her way to the front of the room. "Alright. The topic I chose is about human psychology in relation to the soul. It may be a little too much to grasp but just bear with me."

She only went a quarter of the way through before it all went to hell.

"A human soul can come in many forms. In fact, they change constantly as the human grows and becomes aware of new ideas. As the human acknowledges their strengths and weaknesses along with their passions and distastes, the soul within reacts and grows according to the human's mind. Thus promoting the theory,

A Sound Soul  
Dwells within a Sound Mind  
And a Sound Body

The stronger the balance between all three, the stronger the soul itself."

"Hold on Maka." The teacher, Mr. Stein broke in. "That's a rather interesting report Maka. However, I feel like it's too much of an advanced topic."

"What do you mean? I did my research and executed the report as accurate as possible."

"Yes Maka. But out of you and the rest of the class, I doubt anyone here comprehended anything you just said. Plus, I doubt anyone really cares."

Maka refused the urge to blow up and instead boiled within her mind. She had spent two weeks on this report only to get crap for it? Just like always she supposed.

"Maka what I'm trying to say is that you're too hard on yourself. You could sit back for once and try something simpler like, animal cruelty topics or perhaps crime investigation procedures. Even that's more understandable than human mind complexities."

"Okay. So basically you're telling me that monkey's asses are more important than human complexities within the mind and spirit?"

Half the class snorted a giggle and Stein didn't reply, even though Maka was extremely disappointed. Eventually she went to sit back down. Unfortunately, everyone began to run their mouths.

"Tsk. Maybe you should've done a report on your daddy. I'm sure he'd be willing to give info on the human brain and women attractions."

"Oh! You want some ice for that burn?"

"That was a good one."

"Hey maybe if we think hard enough, we'll be able to see each other's' souls."

That started a whole questionnaire process of people mocking Maka's paper and throwing around stupid questions and dumb answers about souls.

Maka began breathing heavily. Her mind was breaking down on her and she could feel the tears barging their way in. She couldn't take it. She stood up and ran out the door, barging her way through the hallways. She didn't even stop when she had run into someone. She just stumbled and went on. Maka wasn't sure where she was heading. She just kept running and not looking back. She felt the phone in her jacket pocket going off a few times but she ignored it. For the first time in her life, she was running away from her problems.

'

"I need to see her once more." Kid exclaimed to himself as he flew across the sky via flying skateboard. He was in Vegas once more. The entire city was lit with traffic and the likes, making it a fantastic view from a few dozen feet in the air. He was passing by the attractive areas of the city. Where the grand replicas of ancient architecture and historically themed buildings stood out.

He went along the suburbs where he always found the girl. He wanted to feel her soul once more, and attempt to examine it fully. Apparently, all souls were different according to his father. Kid was only able to distinguish souls all as one at his current level. Still, that wouldn't stop him from trying the best he could. He let himself fly at a low level, constantly on the lookout. It wasn't long until he heard a cry of panic. Kid followed the sound and saw the commotion. A crimson aura lined the young man who was running the opposite direction of the older woman who had yelled. The man was armed with a gun and had a clump of jewelry in his hand. Kid bit his lip and instantly grew nervous. He was a grim reaper and was supposed to stop people like him before they became something they weren't meant to be. But all Kid could do was sit and watch. His cloak and mask suddenly felt heavy, and Kid noticed a girl running straight toward the boy. Her head was lowered as if she wasn't looking where she was going. With that gesture, the culprit with the gun would mistake her for a threat. And Kid was right. He held out his gun.

"No!" Kid acted without thinking and sped toward the girl. Everything happened in a flash. But nothing could've prepared Kid for causing the gravest mistake of his life.

* * *

 _ **Wow, this chapter... It feels pretty damn dark, is it too dark or is just me? I don't know but Maka, I am sorry, I am torturing you and I feel so damn bad...*Ahem* Anywho, Cliffhanger, questions to ask. I am just torturing you guys with mystery. :D Thank you everyone for all the great feedback. I've gotten so much positive feedback and I'm glad to hear that you're all loving this and waiting to see where it goes. As far as responses to comments, I'll start doing that by chapter 5.**_


	5. Chapter 4: Awakening A Curse

"We govern people's lives and deaths. We are the absolute existence which maintains order. Er, well. That's how one can see it, but that's not entirely it Kid."

"Understood father. The point is balance."

'

Death would give anything for his son, even if it meant losing his own life.

The problem was that Kid was so obligated to humanity that it wiped out all hope for his reaper heritage. Kid respected his duties, he respected protocol and rules. He wasn't rebellious but instead had his own ideas for what he thought was the best. And that's exactly why Death gave him his heart in the first place, to shape the world into a better place.

But being the Grim Reaper had multiple aspects to convey rather than just keeping the world orderly and balanced, which wasn't quite going well at this point. Humans are quite unaware that death is the very fear controlling them. But anyone who knows the Grim Reaper, knows that the most iconic job for a reaper was reaping souls. It was a touchy subject and a delicate one at that. Only certain souls were to be reaped and only certain matters were to be taken when reaping those souls. Kid hadn't reaped one soul in his life time. It was a process that brought fear to him. Death remembered the fear in his son's golden eyes when he failed to reap a man's soul only months ago. The failure to complete the task had cost both reapers to chase after the insane man. But nothing could be done once the man got what he wanted, the death of a young woman who was peacefully walking alone at that moment. Kid was broken at the thought that he had initially caused an innocent life by not reaping the man's soul. It tore his heart out, Death knew that for a fact.

Reaping was the only duty that Kid couldn't complete. He passed on souls, which brought him grave empathy as well. He still managed to complete the ritual though. Studying all reaper aspects and tradition wasn't a problem. The problem was the fact that Death the Kid wanted to be human. That was all there was to it. The boy had his own ideas that involved sympathy and understanding. Reapers aren't sympathetically hardwired. A rogue soul is a rogue soul, and they must all be reaped. But Kid wasn't willing to abide to the rules, simply because he thought otherwise.

Death sighed and let himself sit upon his son's throne. He reached a hand to his mask and let it off for fresh breath of air.

For centuries, Death himself couldn't understand the human race. He baffled on their desires and emotions. It wasn't until he gave in to emotion, that he finally understood the human race. But his emotions were now banished, and instead placed into the soul of his son.

He could say that he loved Kid with all his non-existent heart. He did. His son was definitely beautiful in all ways. The young golden eyes of a newborn reaper fit well with the boy's dark clump of shaggy hair. Which the boy always kept neatly combed down, an idea that he had picked up from humans. Death couldn't hold in the chuckle that came up at the thought that the boy's dressing style was also something he picked up from humans, of course with a personal touch. The black formal suit did fit him well, and Kid had the courtesy of adorning it with a skull tie and white rectangles representing the Sanzu lines for buttons. It was to say, an adorable attire for the young reaper.

The most important part of his son however, would be the white unfulfilled rings which adorned his hair. They were only half-complete, restricting the true power which he held. The stripes were constrained by the River Sanzu, a reincarnation of the River Styx. The Sanzu River made its way along the underworld, figuratively carrying the power of a Grim Reaper. Death's own lines were complete, resembling diamond-like patterns along each lock of hair. Kid's however, would resemble something much more ironic when completed. Since the three lines carved the left side of his head, once complete, the lines of Sanzu would mimic a halo. Making his son seem like an angel of death. It would fit the boy well no matter what. But that is, if the boy would be strong enough to connect his stripes. Death's one and only worry was the fear of Kid falling to the human race...

"You must love...not be in love."

'

There was a deafening static in her ears before the world warped around her.

A burning coldness stung at her core and a strange wave of terror approached her. It was that same sensation she had felt many times before, randomly whenever she was walking alone at night. It was the same feeling she had gotten the other day at school, when the world came to a stop around her. All Maka knew was that there was one second when she looked up before everything eluded around her. She was running down the street in a daze of anger and emotion that she didn't even know where she was going. She had allegedly ran away for the first time in her life. And in that second of looking up, there was a heated gun in her eyes. There was no pain, no feel, nothing that could've acted as a bullet within her flesh. But she fell precisely onto her back, the pressure she felt hinted that. Though there was also weight above her, and her eyes widened at what she saw. Mystified was the only emotion that filled her. She could've been dreaming this whole entire day and was most likely cuddled up in her bed just hallucinating everything that went on. Or she could've been dead, considering nothing but black surrounded her and the strange waves of burning coldness within were eating away her strength. But what really caught her was that image above was not at all human, and her eyes widened at the fact that she might've been going crazy.

Golden eyes were caught staring at widened green ones. They were at a touch of eyes, glaring at each other's figure. Only, that she was glaring back at a bare white skull, and she didn't seem too happy. Kid was buried in the fact that he couldn't teleport away. He had saved her initially by tackling her and teleporting them into a different area. The last thing he heard was the gunshot, but he had gotten to this girl in time to rescue her. The one he had been searching for.

His body froze when his eyes caught on to the darkness that overshadowed them. A black cloud encircled the two strangers, and Kid grew clueless when a soothing voice provoked his head in that moment. It sounded vaguely familiar to him. It was delicate and energizing, but the words it spoke baffled Kid into confusion.

"You have reawakened Death's curse."

Kid knit his eyebrows and looked around for the voice's owner. However black continued to stain the world around him.

"Death couldn't have prevented this any longer. He was quite a fool to believe that he could keep you away from his fear."

"Who are you?" Kid called out, unknowing that the voice was only in his head.

"The curse has been reawakened thanks to you. You will be the one to do what your father wouldn't simply due to fear. Embrace the curse of Death. Surely you know what this shall bring to you."

Kid froze in a grand fear when he heard that phrase. The air gradually disappeared from his body and his mind went blank. There was no feel in his limbs or any sense of life within his body. He was lifeless. It was a terrible feeling and he looked down to see that the girl felt it as well. Only a few moments of it commenced, and the darkness faded along with the feeling. The world came back to them once more. His breaths trembled behind the mask. He forced himself off of her and fell back to a sit. Kid was scared out of his mind. He had revealed himself to her, a reaper law that he was guided to always avoid. The dark world that had encircled them had been it. The proof that he had just lost his freedom as well as taking away hers. He kept peeling through the entire situation. All that lingered was what he had just done. Perhaps he did save the girl's life. But it could be mirrored to say that he had just warped her life into a living hell.

Maka sat up with head reeling in all directions. She took heavy gulps of air after the horrifying experience she had just endowed. The dark spots faded from her vision and her eyes caught on to her surroundings. This wasn't the sidewalk she had been on only seconds ago. This wasn't the road down the street from her school. Somehow she was at her favorite hangout, the park that sat only a block from her home. Her gaze switched to the strange figure that sat across from her. Her breathing came out violently and a sudden fear found its way within her eyes. "What's going on? Who-Who are you?"

Kid didn't answer. His voice was locked within his throat as his mind was focused on what had commenced. He had done it this time. The last major law of the Grim Reaper had been broken. Kid had been warned several times about this particular code. And it made sense with what he had just been told. The curse of Death... This was why his father had accounted him about this reaper law over all the others. It made perfect sense. Now the young reaper had every right to sob out in spite of himself. If having a disappointed father wasn't enough to prick at his core, then the damaged fate of this young mortal was. It didn't seem fair. Kid had always desired to meet a human, to come upon them not as a reaper but as a human. He questioned the fact that he held mortal flesh and bone. He wouldn't look any less human than anyone else. But instead he was guided by the rules of his heritage. He had gotten what wanted now however, in a twisted sort of way.

"Please just tell me, what the hell's going on?"

Kid met his eyes to her. He tried to process an answer for her. But it wasn't necessarily within his mind to explain what was going on when he barely comprehended it himself. Precisely, the only person he had ever talked to was his father, and even that failed him. It wasn't much a normal task to explain that he was a grim reaper to someone who most likely had no desire in knowing you were real. Kid was an evil demon in the eyes of humans and though it hurt to have that in mind, he had to accept it and be careful with his words. Through the corner of his eyes he could see as she cautiously studied him. With hesitation, she extended her arm in attempt to make contact. Kid shuffled back with dismay and made a stupid decision to run. Unfortunately, just when he thought he could get away, it got him. A searing pain shot through his body and he found himself crash-landing along the grass. His breathing elevated and panic arose. He refused to believe that he was really in this situation. "No! No! No! This can't be happening!"

The sound of footsteps fell into his ears. Kid lifted his head and slowly arched back to face her. The fear within her soul was well hidden, but she was baffled and confused. To be precise, the one who was supposed to be scared held no sentiment, while the immortal being on the ground was driven in terror. He let out a small grumble, which could've been mistaken for a groan of pain. He sat up and tried to regulate his breathing, but wearing a mask amplifies most sounds, his huffs muffled louder with it on. The dark robes were loosely flowing around his body by this time, exposing a body that was clothed in a black suit. He couldn't do anything to hide himself at this point, or actually ever.

Maka couldn't process anything that was happening. First the world warped around her and all of a sudden went black to reveal a skull directly over her face. The skull belonged to this creature whom she pondered on insanely. She studied the being thoroughly. A white mask with three hollow circles enlightened the scraggily black robe. Wrangled pieces scattered along the robe, as if it spikes were attempted as a failed decoration. She hadn't a clue what was going on. There was the cold embrace within and her chest lurched with a horrible anxious feeling that left her breathless because of it. This freezing feeling had caught her many times already. She lifted her hand and reached over to the mask hesitantly. She planted her hand to the cold material while the being stayed shocked in place at her action. Heavy breathing was the only sound heard as she kept her hand pressed against the cold skull. A freezing temperature entered her hand and she felt terribly ill. "What are you?" Her voice came out in a low whisper.

"I'm not entirely sure you'd like to know." His muffled voice rang in her ears.

The white mask bore into her and the cold wave stung even stronger. She let out exasperated breaths and kept her distance. Maka played out everything in her mind. She had ran away, the world suddenly warped and darkness took over. When it went away, she was at her favorite pass time area. But why, and more importantly, how? The heated gun in her eyes… Green eyes lit up when an abruptly crazy idea crawled into her mind, and she jumped back in shock when she realized just how crazy right she might've been. Her breathing elevated. She was either having a crazy nightmare or she was dead. She didn't quite know. "You're. No. You can't be… Are you?"

There was no answer rather than hollow eyes staring back at her figure.

"You're… The Grim Reaper…" Maka trailed her eyes over him like a crazy person. The skull mask, the dark robes, the coldness and deathly terror. It all made sense. She tried to level her breathing. "Am I… Am I dead?"

Kid dropped his eyes solemnly. He sighed and forced his words out. "No. You are very much alive."

"But you're the Grim Reaper, I think. I don't know what's going on."

Kid dropped his hesitation and brought himself to talk. "You're alive. What's going on is that… You, er, I mean." He couldn't quite gather his words.

"I'm gonna die. Don't you only appear to those who are going to die? I mean if you are the Grim Reaper." Maka grasped her head in a daze. "What am I talking about? This is all dream isn't it? I just need to wake up."

"That's not the case unfortunately." Kid responded in a solemn tone. "Actually it's quite the opposite." Kid muttered back, to which Maka grunted. "What do you mean?"

Kid inhaled a breath and sat up firmly. There was no escape for him now or forever. He had to accept his consequence and reveal the truth to this mortal. Even though it was a twisted consequence that he had no desire in sharing with her. "You saw me and are still alive. As a reaper who broke a major reaper code, I will accept that this was my fault. But it has been done. The curse has awakened. You now bear the curse of Death."


	6. Chapter 5: Death is Forever

If there was anything that could wake Maka from this nightmare, now would've been a great time to do so.

Her skin was prickled with the coldness that the creature next to her emitted. Her eyes clouded on his strange masked body. Her mind cried out for a wakeup call. She was alive, up and alive. So she had been told, but she refused to believe it. Honestly, how could she so much as be alive and awake? There was the moment when she ran away from school. All of a sudden everything warped into a haze and then went black. She was lifeless for the span of a mere second, and the world came back to reveal another odd encounter. This masked and cloaked being who claimed to be the Grim Reaper. At least that's what she thought. He hadn't physically said the words but everything about him was proof. The menacing mask and dark robes were sign one. The horrifying coldness cut through her like some sort of deathly weapon. It was completely insane. And now he had the courtesy of saying that she was cursed? By this time, Maka Albarn was sure that she was in a horrible nightmare.

Maka shook her head in disapproval and got to her feet. "OK look. I'm just gonna leave now. I'm not sure what's going on but I think I'm just gonna go home and sleep it off because I'm sure this is all just one big weird dream." She backed away and slowly turned opposite to make her way home.

Kid rose an eyebrow and got up. "I'm not finished explaining yet." He claimed.

"Look it doesn't matter. This is just a twisted dream of mine. Now, good bye." Maka began walking off.

Kid began to pace along reluctantly until a black cloud of smoke appeared in front of him and he was overshadowed by the image of his father. Kid dropped all stability and was left frozen in place.

The older reaper stood with his back to his son, sinking his gaze into the mortal who innocently glared back with no will left to keep fearless. Death said not a word, and even that was enough to keep Kid stuck in a runt. But the young reaper dared to speak, he just wasn't expecting the response to be so casual.

"Father..."

"Let's go Kid."

Kid kept still as his father turned to face him. The young reaper was confused. No doubt that it would've clicked in his father's mind already, the broken law Kid had caused.

"Come on."

"I can't." Kid let out.

"Yes. You can." Death casually extended an arm with his glinting scythe pointing out toward the girl. Kid instantly protested and scrambled in front of her. "You can't just take her like this!"

"I will do what I must to keep you safe child. You've done enough for one day."

"No!" Kid growled back. "You can't do this! This is my fault I will accept my consequence!"

"No you won't." Death withdrew the scythe to his side. "You know the curse doesn't affect you only. Are you honestly willing to take her freedom? To take her life away from her?"

Kid carefully relaxed his defensive expression behind the mask, but couldn't find the words to answer his father's question.

"Exactly."

"I'd rather accept my consequence than be responsible for the faulty death of another mortal. Father, please. Don't do this. She doesn't deserve it."

"And she doesn't deserve to be bound to a twisted curse either."

"So be it. I refuse to let you take her soul. Father, as a reaper I accept the consequences of my actions. Don't seclude her life. Her soul is far from dead."

"What the hell is going on with me? What are you two?"

Both Kid and his father faced the girl whom stood with no clear thought in her head. If it was possible to faint out of confusion and fear, Maka was about ready to drop dead. Her head weighed down on her like lead and her limbs were trembling so fearfully that she was surprised to still be standing.

"Look at her Kid. She doesn't need such a twisted fate."

Kid sighed and returned his gaze to his father. "This curse, is it the one that you taught me about when I was younger?"

There was a pause before Death responded. The scythe was kept at his side, but he wasn't planning on putting it away. "The curse of Death. It binds reaper and mortal together, until that mortal dies. That is the only way they can be free of the curse."

That was it. Kid arched his head as a mere sign of self-disappointment. To let his father take the girl's soul, was to say that the same situation would replay itself, just as it had three months ago. Kid would be innocently responsible for a faulty death. But he couldn't let that happen. He committed this sacrifice specifically to keep her alive. He saved her, unconditionally. "Either way you see it, her fate will be twisted father. If you take her soul right here, right now, then you will be responsible for a premature death of an innocent soul. If I abide by the curse, then I am bound to her side at all times, for the rest of her life. Either one is considered twisted. But I refuse to let her soul come upon our domain prematurely."

There was no further words from Death who seemed to lose all anger with his son and instead turn it into angst. For the first time, Kid actually abided to the rules, and it had to be the one that allowed him to get what he had always wanted. Mortality.

Kid still had things to learn, things to accomplish as a reaper. But with this, Kid wouldn't be able to return to his domain until this girl's life was to end. His pillar of protection had crashed down. Everything that Death had done to avoid this very specific situation, had just came back and bit at his power. Death began to wonder whether this was really a mere coincidence that this happened. Or whether this was something that had been planned for millennia...

"Son. Kid. I cannot disrespect your way of understanding. If you choose this for yourself and for her, I want you to know that you can never stop it. You will be bound to her until her soul leaves this world. You will take her freedom, privacy, and possibly sanity. You cannot expect to befriend her."

"Understood father." Kid nodded his head.

Death took a last glance at the mortal girl behind his son. Her soul was trembling and she would soon break out into a panic. Kid wouldn't do her any good, he would just suppress the freedom that all mortals desire. But as his son stated, her soul was far too young to meet death. "Good-bye Kid. Just remember who you are. You are no human. You are my son and the next Grim Reaper to lead the world."

With that the young reaper's father was gone. Disappointing his father was nothing new. The situation didn't matter to Kid, he played responsible. That was the important part. He had to think of it that way, otherwise his self-esteem would get out of hand.

Kid returned to the source of trembling breaths behind his figure. His eyes became distant as he realized how weak she suddenly became. Even her soul had about enough phenomenon for one day...

He averted his gaze from her tired eyes and instead faced off to the floor. There was shift from her feet, and Kid looked just in time to see her sprint away. He was forced to follow as the pain had already started to get to him. He followed her throughout the park and onto the streets. She ran without thinking considering she didn't mind the cars that were only a short distance from her. Thankfully Kid was able to slip right through any obstacles courtesy of his death god abilities. He just had to keep up with her before she did something stupid.

They ran through a wide alley and Kid zipped to his left as she turned and ran across the sidewalks. He was alert on her actions and managed to catch up to her just as she doze across the street again. Kid tackled her down and they tumbled to the next sidewalk.

"Get away from me!"

"I wish I could!" Kid growled back. The poor thing was filled with so many emotions that he could barely keep his head straight. A part of him wished he had never came to Earth realm. But of course if he hadn't, this girl would've been gone. Her fate was being challenged and Kid was lured here because of it. It was his mistake, but a sacrifice to keep her alive he supposed. Something his father wouldn't understand. His head felt severely heavy at the thought of his father. But he didn't have time to ponder into it because the girl scrambled back and huffed angered breaths at him. "Get away from me! Just leave me alone!"

"I can't."

"What do you mean you can't? That whole talk that happened, what was that about? Who was that and who are you?!"

Kid got to his feet and tugged at his robes to adjust them neatly around himself once more. "You humans know about myths and legends. My father and I are Grim Reapers. That is all I will say about my identity. Listen. I understand it may be hard to take this in but, I can't necessarily leave your side."

Her green eyes were knit into confusion. "Why not?"

"By the curse of Death, we are now bound together. You are bound to me until your...death." The words felt heavily agonizing as they trailed from his voice. He fought his emotions and kept himself from feeling terrible.

Maka clenched her jaw as she felt the air lock inside of her, not ready to leave. She managed an exhale and glared fiercely at the reaper. "What do you mean I'm bound to you? Are you're saying that I can't leave your presence until I die?"

"And I can't leave yours. It's a two way deal."

Nothing but silence commenced until Kid shifted a step farther from her.

"This stupid curse." Maka's knuckles were bleached white as her eyes fired at the skull mask. "What the hell are talking about? Why are you bound to me?"

"If a reaper breaks any major code, a curse commends. It is against reaper code to show themselves to a mortal if that mortal's soul will not be reaped." Kid strode a hand along his mask in sheer guilt. "I wasn't aware of it. The curse of Death was a curse that died out ages ago. But I suppose that's because no reaper had made this mistake that I just did."

"So why the hell didn't you reap my soul? What was the point of showing yourself to me?"

"I-," Kid choked on his words. He watched as she turned her back on him with clenched fists and stood with nothing more but anger.

"I have to be dreaming. This isn't real you're nothing more but a myth. You can't be real." Maka blankly spoke.

Kid didn't answer and instead exhaled a lonesome breath. The girl looked back at him before she took slow steps along the sidewalk. Kid followed her like a lone puppy who had nowhere else to go. It was all he could do. He was stuck to her now with no way out of the curse.

It was silent as Maka led them toward her house. She stopped just before the property and spoke without giving Kid one look. "I can't do this. I refuse to believe you. How do I know you're not just some weird stalker dude who's trolling me?!"

Kid rose a brow even though she couldn't see it. "I'm not sure what that is."

Her shoulders dropped to relax as she finally turned and faced him. "This can't be true. You're Death. You're a creature of hell and despair. How do you expect me to stick with you?"

"I don't. But there's nothing we can do."

Maka crossed her arms and clutched at her shoulders. She staggered in circles along the sidewalk baffled on what was happening. Kid put a hand to her shoulder which he quickly withdrew once he realized it wasn't the best thing to do.

"Don't touch me."

"I apologize." He returned. His eyes studied her soul which was trembling and out of control. She didn't deserve this, she didn't deserve to suffer because of him.

"This is just a lie. I have to stick with you for the rest of my life? I can't. It's insane it's not real." Maka paced anxiously back and forth.

"Listen, uh." Kid awkwardly rubbed his mask. "I didn't quite catch your name."

Maka stared blankly at him for a few deadly seconds. "It's Maka."

"Maka." Kid repeated in a whisper. "Listen Maka. I never meant for this to happen. It's not quite normal for me either. I'm actually in big trouble but that's not important right now. Listen, I'm not entirely sure what's gonna happen. All I know is that we are bound together. I only show myself to you. No one else can see me unless I want them to."

"Will you be bound to someone else instead of me if you show yourself to them?"

Kid thought about that for a second. But he didn't know actually. "I'm not quite sure."

Maka sighed and glanced over at her home. Her father wasn't home yet and was still working. Though he would be showing up any minute once he got the call that his daughter ditched school and ran off. She frowned and made her way inside. She didn't look back, she already knew the reaper would follow her no matter what. She made her way upstairs and into her room, giving the reaper no time to bask on his surroundings. Her bed was empty so she couldn't have been having an out of body experience. She wouldn't be waking up and seeing that this was all a nightmare. She let herself drop onto the mattress and glared up at the ceiling.

Just as she closed her eyes, the door was opened and a concerned face was glaring at her. "Hey."

Maka didn't necessarily meet her father's eyes and stayed silent.

"Is everything alright? I got a call and-,"

"I'm fine."

"You ditched class and ran off from school Maka. I highly doubt that "fine" is the truth."

Maka glanced over to the reaper. He turned his gaze away from her nervously. But her father saw nothing out of the ordinary and so Maka refused to tell him anything that happened this day.

"Dad I just need some time alone. I'll be fine I promise."

Her father frowned but nodded. "Alright. Promise to not leave the house until I get back from work."

"No need to worry."

The door was closed and Maka was left to herself. Almost.

Kid cleared his throat and disrupted the silence. Maka gave him a weary look before she knit her eyes and instead turned for her pillows. She clutched onto one tightly. By the time Kid heard the choke in her voice, he knew he had done the damage.

A hesitant step forward was taken. But Kid wasn't sure how to calm her when this was all his fault. He couldn't make it any better considering she obviously didn't want him there in the first place. It was like she said, he was a creature of hell and despair. No human would sympathize him and he needed to erase the thought that maybe they could. He was death and humans feared death. That was the naked truth.

Maka inhaled a shaky breath and sat up. She refused to meet her eyes to Kid and so spoke to him without security. "I don't fully understand this curse. You're bound to my side until I die. How does that work exactly?"

"Basically I have to be at your side at all times. Honestly you just keep living your normal life. It's just..." His voice trailed off as she stood out of bed.

"Normal as in living with Death for the rest of my life! That sounds perfectly ideal for a human." Her tone was harsh and simple.

"I'm sorry." Kid frowned. "It was not my intention for this to happen. Not with you or anyone else."

"Well it happened! And now I'm apparently stuck with you forever!" Maka walked passed him and out the door.

Kid followed her downstairs as she entered the kitchen and grabbed a drink of water. Her eyes scanned over him again. Kid noticed how they became distant and she looked away.

"I can't. I refuse to believe this. I know I'm just having a nightmare. There's no way this could be real. Maybe I'm just dead. And this is all a hallucination-,"

"I don't mean to cut you off but if you were dead, my existence to you would be far more considerable. Seeing that I am the son of Death."

Maka responded by meeting her eyes to his mask. The coldness had died down to a slight breeze. But she could say that it still haunted her. Death was standing in the middle of her kitchen floor. What a ridiculous thought to have in mind. While she refused to believe it, her only other choice was the belief that she was dead. Though as the reaper had said, it would be the same either way. Maka could now say that she was stuck with Death. She was stuck… with Death. Forever.

'

'

* * *

 **Behold, chapter 5! Finally after all these weeks... Ok yeah I am really sorry for not updating this, I was supposed to be on at least chapter 8 by this time. It's just that given the situation of the plot, this story is actually highly challenging for me to write. I just don't want to make a mistake early on that will affect the next chapters to come because I've done that before and it all went to hell from there. So I'm being very critical of this story. But I will force myself to have more updates, I need to get to the GOOD parts of this story. P.S. In case of confusion, I did transfer the chapter title from ch. 4 to this one, it just felt more compelling for this chapter title rather than 4.**

 **Responses:**

 **QuantamTheory: Sooooo did it end up being a good curse?**

 **WeightlessWriter: I hope I don't kill you out of anticipation because I've set up this story to be highly suspenseful. I gotta keep you all at the edge of your seats ;)**

 **A Random Fangirl: If it's good now just wait a few more updates. And like I said above, I hope I don't kill you guys with all the mysteries I have lingering with these chapters :D**

 **Mysterygirlanonymous: I hope I brought the fangirl out of you once again with this update! I love hearing that people squeal over my updates because it's a damn great accomplishment. And hmmm, we'll see how Maka feels once she sees behind the mask. Soon, soon.**

 **FictionLover(Guest): Thanks for the awesome feedback! Don't worry you can sincerely trust me with FINISHING any story that I write. It may be a frustrating process and a long one at that but I love writing and I intend to finish whatever I start. I kinda treat fanfiction as a non-paying job, I need to write for my fellow followers because I definitely hate when I find a great fic and it ends up not being finished.**


	7. Chapter 6: My Soul Is Trembling

An hour had passed and Kid finally found it in himself to actually move.

He was literally glued to the floor because the nervous emotions ate away his stable nature. Maka was lying on her bed with a book and headphones in her ears. The day had slowly but surely went by as evening had already hit. Not a single word had been spoken since Maka's shaken attitude earlier that day. She had withdrawn herself and instead dug herself away from reality and into that novel of hers.

Kid had stood by the wall long enough to observe his surroundings. The room was quite spacey. Her bed was placed dead in the middle on the far right wall with a small table on either side. A rectangular object Kid barely came to recognize as a dresser, sat against the left wall beside another door. A few picture frames decorated the light walls. It wasn't much fancy but it seemed appealing with all the extra space to have around. There seemed to be a balcony door as well.

He leaned his head back against the wall.

Now what?

The thought pressed onto him in a taunting manner. This is what the reaper had always wanted. To endure the vibrant energy of the human beings he had grown to adore. And now he basically had in a simply twisted form. He was chained to this mortal for the rest of her life. Kid had been through several arguments with his father about acknowledging humans. Finally, Kid sincerely understood how wrong he was and how right his father had always been.

There was no befriending these mortals. There was no sympathy for death. He was the demon in their head, and the ghost who now haunted this innocent young soul.

It was a lifelong desire that had blandly came to an end. Homesick had settled in, and Kid was sure that he wasn't ready to commit to his consequence just yet. But for the sake of an innocent life, he had to accept it.

"Sigh*"

Maka hadn't paid attention to a single thing she read. The loud music wasn't helping much either. She couldn't get her mind off of it. She couldn't ignore the menacing mask which stood awkwardly still against the wall. Her chest took in the anxiety of it all which dragged her down with a sudden desire to sleep. But even if her eyes started to close up on her, she knew that sleep was impossible for this night.

Her eyes secretly shifted to the reaper. He was just standing there doing absolutely nothing like he had been since. He couldn't leave. She couldn't go anywhere without him following her. What kind of demented psychotic would forge a curse that bounds a mortal and demon? What kind of idiot reaper would show himself to a mortal without reaping their soul?

What kind of mortal would actually believe it?

Maka had nowhere to go, nowhere to run, and no one to tell. She was alone. As if anyone would believe her, not even the weirdos at school who always talked about ghosts and the likes.

Her head rested down onto her bed and she attempted to let the music calm her. What a coincidence that the lyrics she heard summed up her entire mood.

"I need a miracle to get away from you..." She let out in the lightest whisper.

She pulled out the earphones and got out of bed. She didn't face him and instead went downstairs to see if her father was home yet. The house remained empty. Maka frowned and turned to make her way back to her room, she didn't expect to run into the reaper right when she turned however.

She instantly jumped back. "Don't stand so close to me, please."

"My apologies."

Maka crossed her arms and turned her gaze away. She stood in thought until she began her way back to her room. She sat on her bed persistently and questioned the reaper.

"Ok so I'm cursed to stay at your side til my death. I have no choice but to accept that even if it is unpleasant to have in mind. The next question is, how does this curse affect me if I try to, say, run far far away from you? Will I forcibly teleport back to you or what?"

"Like I said Maka, I'm new to this as well. I don't know how the curse affects you in that aspect. In my case, I am paid with a string of pain whenever we are distanced."

"It hurts you?"

Kid nodded wearily as Maka stood up. "What are you doing?"

Maka didn't answer and slowly took a few steps back in order to test his theory. She guessed they were at least ten feet from each other before the reaper brought a hand to his chest and was forced to walk closer to her.

"Sorry I just needed to see it."

"It's alright." Kid returned. "After all I'm sure it astounds you that a creature like me can be hurt by a small pain to the chest."

"A little, yeah." Maka was left staring at the skull. He didn't say anything in return and so Maka kept quiet as well.

A call was heard from downstairs and she guessed her father was home.

"Dad's home." She rushed downstairs and met with the red-haired man at the door.

Kid watched as their souls synchronized, though Maka's did hold a bit of hesitation. Kid noted that there was something behind the way they united. Almost as if a hidden grief was the source of it all. It was the grief he sensed within Maka's core few times before. It filled him with the desire to know what was causing it.

The two broke the embrace and trailed their way to the kitchen in conversation.

"Geez Maka it's freezing in here. Do you have the AC on or something?"

Maka flustered. "Is it? I didn't even notice."

"Well you are still wearing a sweater. That may be why."

Maka trailed nervously. There was a knock on the door and she opened it to find maroon eyes filled with concern. "Soul-,"

"It's good to know you're alive."

The words slightly struck at her but coming from the laid back attitude of white-haired teen, she knew better than to take it literally.

"I heard what happened. I've been texting and calling and Tsubaki even came by earlier, said no one answered. Are you alright?"

Maka dropped a sigh of relief. "I'm alright don't worry. Sorry. I haven't even touched my phone since I got home and I've been in my room all day. I probably should've called you guys."

Soul gave her his skeptical look. "Yeah, probably. So what's going on? Do you still, wanna go to the movies or?"

Maka glanced back to her father, the reaper in the corner of her eye. "I don't know Soul. I don't really feel so great."

"Exactly why the gang and I have been trying to get you out of this house! Geez Maka, I know you're going through tough times but sulking around at home ain't gonna help."

"I know. I know. But not right now okay? Next time, I promise."

Soul ran a hand through his hair, slipping his headband off in the process. "Alright. I'll tell Tsubaki and Star that you ditched out again."

"Soul come on, don't make me feel worse than I already do."

"You should know when I'm kidding. Anyway, I'll go ahead and get going." Soul turned and began to walk off. "See you at school tomorrow, right?"

"Right. Good night."

"Night."

'  
After a half-eaten dinner and nonsensical conversations with her father, Maka finally proceeded to her room and plopped onto her bed. Her eyes fell with exhaustion but refused to stay shut for very long. Every time they trailed open, she caught glimpses of the reaper's black robes against the wall. He would just stand there without a sound, that was the most uncomfortable part. Sure small talk with him would be awkward and even more nonsensical, but silence killed her. He seemed more like a devilish Halloween ornament rather than a person, er, mythical god.

It had been a long three months for the blonde. From the little annoyances at school to more personal topics she'd rather never talk about. After all the hits she had taken, this one had to be the most impacting one. How was she going to sleep knowing he was standing against the wall the entire time? Not to mention that going to school with him was going to be horrible. Maka had absolutely no idea how to deal with this. (No Crona pun intended).

Just as she was about to fall asleep, her door creaked open and her father came in. Maka caught a glimmer in his hands and she sat up curious.

"Hey. Did I wake you up?"

"No. Not really." She replied.

A sigh came from the red-head and he sat beside his daughter solemnly. "I've been wanting to give this to you for a long time now, I just didn't know the right time. But I suppose now would be good, and I hope it helps you keep your head straight."

Maka watched as he strung up a golden necklace from his hands. The lacing was encrusted with emerald and clear crystals in a pattern all around. At the middle, gold encircled a single emerald stone. It was a necklace she knew without a doubt. She just wished it didn't bring the sorrow it held.

"If you want to wait, you can. Just know that you can take it whenever you'd like."

"No I want it right now. Please." Maka held out her hand, forcing herself to stay composed.

With a hesitant frown, her father went ahead and placed it within his daughter's hand.

Kid had no clue what the necklace stood for or why the two were fighting to stay so calm. He felt entirely left out. There was no sniffing around in books for the answers. And there was definitely no invasion of Maka's soul, even if he tried. She was well hidden even for his perception. All Kid could do was watch as both daughter and father gave regards to each other and left each other the blessing of a good night.

He inhaled a breath and let himself sit against the wall as the room went dark and Maka settled in to bed. This was only a start for the reaper.

'

'

* * *

 **Responses:**

 **WeightlessWriter: Practically ;) Though I didn't even realize it until you pointed it out. *facepalm* I am hyped up to hear how much you love this and am even more grateful for the lovely compliment. I do feel like this story is me, in my real voice and style in contrast to my other stories.**

 **Kairi671: Thank You!**

 **QuantamTheory: I've literally been waiting to drop this plot twist since the idea first came to mind, which was about... March? That's when the actual idea came to mind but I didn't take it in til July. Basically, I've been waiting a loooong time to drop this story on you guys and I absolutely love all the reactions so far. I hope to get all the KiMa fans happy dancing for real here pretty soon.**

 **NickyRockit: Thank you for the follow and the awesome review. I have a handful of wonderful things planned out for this story and we're all going to see them here pretty soon.**

 **Mysteria Mystar'i: Guess we'll just have to wait and find out soon enough ;)**


	8. Chapter 7: Black and Blue

**Before we begin here, I'd just like to give a huge shout out to QuantamTheory and a thankful hug along with that! Who knows how much longer this chapter would've taken to be out if it wasn't your help!**

'

'

"I swear if you so much as peek!"

"I've promised that I won't. I have no reason to look."

"What's that supposed to mean?!" Maka reopened the bathroom door and shot a look at the reaper who stood awkwardly to the side. "What am I not pretty enough for you? Don't tell me death gods are perverted jerks just like every other man on this planet..."

Kid shifted. "No you're uh, really very pretty. I'm just merely saying that I'm more of a gentleman than that."

"Gentleman my ass." Maka grunted. She shut the door once more.

Kid had no idea what had just occurred. Interaction with a human wasn't so easy. Hell, the reaper could hardly hold a normal conversation with his father, much less a human. He frowned and began fiddling with his cloak. "What did I do wrong? Was I supposed to say that I would look? No, that would be an invasion of privacy. So why did she take it so personal?"

Kid decided to not dwell on it too much. Instead, his eyes skimmed around the room. Maka's bedsheets were tossed and rugged. Kid had the strong urge to fix them into a necessary perfection. Come to think of it, there were many objects that needed a rearrangement. Keeping everything neat and perfect had become part of his character. Controlling his environment was really the only fun available while living in an underworld mansion his whole life. That fun was etched into a custom.

Once Maka was ready for school and out of the house, Kid only had a minute to bask in the morning nature before the weights were put on him.

"Ok listen. I'm going to school alright. That means that I need to lay down a few rules." Maka took a turn in order to cut through the park. "First. No talking. No one can see you, I don't know if they can hear you. But if anyone catches me talking to nothing, I'll be more of a freak than I already am. So please, keep your mouth shut."

"Understood."

"What did I just say?"

"But we haven't arrived to this *school* place yet."

"We will. So start practicing your quiet skills. Two. Do you think you can keep that coldness to a minimum? You're like a walking freezer."

Kid gave her no reply. Maka crossed her arms in a rather disappointed manner. "You can talk if I ask you a question."

"The freezing vibes that you get from me are my normal effect on humans. I can try to keep it low but I'm not sure if that's possible. It's an inherited trait."

"Ok fine. Just don't talk okay. And I don't know if you abuse this invisibility of yours but if you do, make sure you mess with the annoying people, maybe swipe their chair from underneath them and..."

Kid chuckled, something that caught Maka off guard. Though it was good to know he had a sense of humor.

"We'll see."

'

Walking into class was normal. Maka took her seat, sat back, and listened as the bell rang. She heard a few complaints about it being cold and she had to let out a small breath.

"Everything's alright." She whispered to herself.

"Cool. You're here."

Maka looked up to see Soul take a seat in front of her. He held his usual grin and sat back like always. "I was worried you were gonna ditch again."

"One time. Won't happen again." Maka groaned, resting her chin on her hand.

Kid on the other hand stood awkwardly behind Maka. He was astonished. There was never a chance where he had been around so many humans. It was invigorating to the point that a smile was implanted behind the mask. Happy souls surrounded him. Souls so young and filled with wonder. Of course they were flawed but they were also innocent.

His eyes took in every corner of the room. He couldn't help the small bounce from toe to toe that he was doing. He leaned close to Maka in order to whisper to her. "It's so amazing here."

"Shh!"

Kid quickly withdrew, completely forgetting what Maka had restricted of him.

"I didn't say anything." Soul replied.

"Not you."

"Then who?"

"I... It's... Nothing!" Maka scrambled with her thoughts.

Kid stood silent and continued to feast his eyes the classroom. Ten minutes into the class discussion merely shed passed his ears. There was something that distracted him. He spotted something of perfection, per say, someone's strange but perfectly balanced hairstyle.

He pursed his lips and led himself forward.

Maka widened her eyes once she saw the reaper walking along the class. He was staring off at someone two rows in front of hers. The boy named Ox to be precise.

Maka knit her eyebrows at him. _What the hell is he doing?_

"It's so... Symmetrical." Kid let out in the quietest whisper. He was completely intrigued and hadn't realized that touching the two spikes of hair probably wasn't the best idea.

"What the- Who touched my precious locks?! It was you wasn't it Evans?"

"Hm what did I do? And why is it so cold in here?" Soul's voice indicated that he was sleeping.

 _Oh no. That idiot!_ Maka bit down on her lip.

The reaper unintentionally made it completely worse and decided to walk backwards into Kim Diehl's desk, causing her to wake up from a morning nap.

"What did I tell you guys about waking me up?!"

"No one woke you up ya prick."

"Shut up Soul!"

"What the hell is everyone yelling about?!"

Maka dropped her head in her hands _... Oh. My. God..._

Visiting the library for English class was a complete life saver. Maka found her favorite table and took a sigh of relief. She noted how the reaper was tapping his feet and she rose an eyebrow. He seemed pretty stoked to be at school. Maka silently laughed, he wouldn't be so ecstatic once a pile of homework was on his hands. Who knows, maybe grim reapers were insanely smart.

She studied how his gaze turned from student to student. He seemed like a child who was seeing a new school for the first time. A child who was a clichéd Halloween costume. But this was apparently the real deal.

She shook her head. A small whisper entered her ear. "It sure is quiet in here."

Maka opened her notebook and scribbled down a few words in order to reply.

 _ **That's how it's supposed to be.**_

"Why?"

 _ **Because it's a library. People need silence to read.**_

The reaper nodded and returned to his spot behind Maka's chair. The coldness he emitted haunted her without his knowledge. Maka was only used to such cold climate.

She ignored the feeling of his eyes on her figure and took some time to read. She guessed the day hadn't been as bad as it could have. Hopefully lunch would go smooth as well.

'

"Why is it so cold today."

"I was just about to say the same thing. Especially since its noon."

Maka shifted uncomfortably as she joined her friends at the lunch table. It had been an oddly cold day. It was winter of course but even Vegas stays pretty warm. Maka knew the reason why however, and the reaper standing behind her was like a vent of freezing air.

"It is pretty cold huh? I wonder why that is." Maka hoped her tone didn't sound too fake. She hid her inner commotion by taking an interest in her drink.

Soul met up next to her and took his seat. "You know, I was just thinking that it's only been cold around you Maka. Did you bring an air conditioner to school or what?"

"Sure Soul. I have it in my bag right now if you wanna borrow it for gym later on."

Soul cracked a grin and proceeded to his lunch as well as everyone else. Maka wasn't too intrigued with the meal and instead poked at the fruit with her spoon. Tsubaki, her dark haired friend next to her, rose an eyebrow.

"Not hungry?"

"Not really. I'm pretty tired actually."

"You're always tired Albarn."

"It's not my fault Evans."

"Then who's? The many books that you never seem to put down?" Soul teased.

Maka sent a light punch to his arm in return.

Kid on the other hand was trying to understand their conversation. Humans used so many gestures and strange words in their interactions. He had seen more human acts that were foreign to him just in this day, than he ever had in all his life. He figured that he didn't know humans as much as he thought. Maka added to that tremendously. She was well hidden as it seemed, with both her emotions and her thoughts. Kid wasn't sure if the two were ever going to learn to live with the curse.

He stayed quiet and composed throughout the rest of the day so that he wouldn't cause commotion like earlier that day. Maka was sure to confront him on that later on. It was just all too exciting for the reaper. He just wanted to throw off his cloak and mask and act as one of them. But he had already violate one law, who knew what his father would do if he found out that his very own flesh and blood posed as a mere human. That isn't something a god is supposed to do and something that a god of death would never do. Instead, Kid enjoyed what he could while following Maka around.

It was her last class. She sighed before walking in and Kid noted that her soul contracted. Discomfort had taken over.

"Maka. It is nice to see you back in my class."

"Sorry Mr. Stein. It won't happen again, I promise."

"It's alright. By the way if you'd like, you can take a seat here in the front row, if it helps."

Kid followed Maka to her seat. He stood to the side and caught a weird vibe off the teacher. His image was strange enough. He wore a white coat with a weird stitch like patters. Same goes for the gray turtle neck. What instantly hit Kid, was the aura of the man's soul. There was a light outline of red, something Kid knew as a sprout of evil within a human.

"Madness."

Maka shot a look at him and Kid suddenly lost his worry for the man and found his fear of Maka. Her gaze was somehow more unsettling than his father's gaze. Kid decided it was best to stay silent.

He shifted, and withdrew his look to the chalkboard. Kid only looked at the name, Mr. Stein before he found out that not everything about humans was beautiful.

"It sure got chilly in here. It'll be perfect for today's experiment."

'

Maka sped out the school doors after school ended. Kid followed behind, disgusted and terrified. He waited until the two were alone before speaking.

"Do all of his classes generally consist of… tearing an animal apart?"

"Okay when you say it that way it just sounds more terrible that it already is. Just say dissecting. And that answer is yes."

"So you're saying that it's alright to let a potential madman teach a class?"

"Well I wouldn't call him mad. Scratch that he kind of is. But he seems to get the job done."

Kid tilted a frown, letting the image of the man's soul slip to the back of his mind. "How do you deal with it?"

"You get used to it after a few quarters. What I'd like to know is, what the heck were you doing this morning?! I specifically told you no talking, no this and that. And what did you do?"

"I apologize."

Maka rolled her eyes at his innocent comment. "You know you can't just apologize to make things better."

"Why not?"

Maka faced him, it was actually the first time she truly looked at his daunting mask all day. "Because it doesn't fix everything. Or anything for that matter."

"Perhaps. But words speak what actions truly cannot. It is the beauty of the person's sincerity that counts."

"Look not all people are so, beautiful and sincere. Humans can be twisted and deceiving."

Kid came to a stop even though Maka kept walking. Her words seemed to bite at him. It wasn't due to his loyalty to humans but instead the mysterious attitude that Maka portrayed. The girl had been so hidden and concrete with him. Her soul was impossible to read and her actions were impossible to understand. It was almost as if she was the death god here and not him.

Kid needed to understand her, his only hope of that was gaining her trust.

Maka faced back at him and stopped walking. "What are you doing?"

Kid shook his head and walked on.

By the time they reached her home, Maka zipped upstairs and her backpack found itself at the floor. She fell upon her bed and buried her face in her covers. The warmth she earned was satisfying, unlike the icy weather that had been haunting her all day long.

A light stumble caught her attention. She saw the reaper holding his chest and breathing rather heavily at the doorway. Maka felt a zing of guilt for leaving him behind. She had no idea that she could do that and thought instead that he'd just be at her side no matter what her speed was.

She dropped a sigh. "Sorry. I just needed to be alone for a second."

"You needed to be alone that bad? You could just ask me to stand at the far wall you know?"

Maka noted a hint of disturbance in his voice. She figured that she had initially angered him. "I'm sorry."

"Is that a sincere sorry? Or are you just apologizing the way you say deceiving humans apologize?"

Maka was led astray with those words until she remembered what he was referring to. "Are you mad at me or something? Look I just kind of forgot about the whole pain thing. It isn't so easy to have my alone time being taken away from me okay?"

Kid didn't reply and instead took a spot at the wall again. Maka watched as he did so. The reaper had been in the same place since the curse had started. His footprints were most likely burned into the ground. Assuming he had feet, the cloak did cover his entire form.

"You know if you'd like, you can go ahead and sit or something. I don't think standing is too fun."

"Thank you." Kid dropped down, releasing a sigh of relief.

She never would've thought to hear those words from the reaper. It made her feel more guilty than anything else actually. She took the chance to reply before sleep got the best of her. "Y-You're welcome."

* * *

 **A/N: I am sorry, really really really sincerely sorry. I really did not plan on taking so long to update. So don't kill me here guys. You can slap me or maka-chop me or something though, anything that'll get the writer's block and procrastination away.**

 **Responses:**

 **QuantamTheory: Again, thank you for helping me get this out here. I hope I delivered all the necessary suggestions well. I swear, I could learn a thing or two from you. ;)**

 **WeightlessWriter: Shhhh, it's a secret. Well not really, but still. So uh, how about that update? *nudges elbow* No seriously I've been waiting for some more Sound of Resonance and Chained. No pressure though!**

 **Ice Maiden Oliver: Woo! Page buddy! I was seriously so excited to hear that you were a KiMa shipper, I don't come across them too often on the page, surprisingly. And I am extra happy that you love this so much. I hope you liked this chapter as well, and the next update should be quicker.**

 **Crimson Lia: It's awesome seeing your name down on a review for this story! I really enjoy your work in Fragments and I am glad to see that you are enjoying this story.**

 **Gabiey: Thank You!**


	9. Chapter 8: Truth To Be Told

Maka couldn't stop trembling from the nightmares she had been having.

She counted this as the fourth time she woke with a sharp gasp after feeling the life leave her. Her hands dug into the covers as she stared down at her pillow. She was exhausted. The night before had been the same deal, and the two hours that passed since school ended hadn't been any different.

This irritated her. Maka always counted on sleep to be her escape from the world. Her dreams were always alive and promising. Now they were warped into horrid nightmares.

Maka flopped onto her back and let her arms rest over the pillow. She dug a hand underneath the cushion in order to make sure the necklace was still there. Maybe sleeping with the necklace had been the reason for the nightmares. Or maybe it was the reaper's fault. Maybe both.

She heard a light thud and sat up to look for the reaper. She caught him as a flash of white was pulled over his face. The process confused her and she rubbed her eyes.

"You're awake." He spoke.

Maka faced him once more with green eyes searching his figure. His mask had been off…

She shook the confusion away and scooted to the edge of the bed. "Yeah." She replied. "Though it didn't feel like I was sound asleep in the first place." She got up to grab a few books from the shelf that sat beside her bed.

Kid watched her every move. It felt like Maka was some sort of exotic species that he was seeing for the first time. His eyes knew humans like the back of his own hand. Kid had a moderate knowledge on them and how they worked. But Maka... She was something entirely different to him.

Her soul was new. Her emotions were hidden. Her character was just enchanting. He only wished to understand her. The situation would be very different between the both of them if she would just let him have a taste of her mystery. But for now, Kid was merely a prisoner of his consequence.

He watched as Maka came up to him and sat down in front of him. She laid two books down and kept one in her hands.

"What are you doing?" He rose an eyebrow even though she couldn't see it.

"Look, I don't know how grim reapers work okay? I don't know what you do for fun or entertainment. But you look bored and, who doesn't love a good book?"

Kid switched from the books to her eyes a couple of times before answering. "You're inviting me to read?"

"Look it's a onetime offer, either take it or leave it." She grunted.

"I'll take it." Kid spoke, reaching for the violet hardcover that sat to the left. "I know this isn't easy on you and I apologize for being your burden."

The comment caused a sadness to surface. Still, Maka just glared at the bare white of the skull as he searched the cover of her book. She had grown a little used to it now, not that she was ever a scaredy cat. It just felt more normal to see his form. Though if her eyes weren't mistaking earlier, the mask obviously wasn't his real face. It was in the legend that the Grim Reaper literally had a skeleton body. The cloak this reaper wore covered his entire body, however the skull seemed more like a mask rather than an actual skull… What could he possibly look like behind that attire?

She yawned and watched as he felt the book into his hands. "That one is my favorite, so be careful with it okay?"

Kid nodded and studied the cover of the book. Purple was a thrilling color. A color of true mystery and majesty.

"You really like the cover don't you?" Maka let out a small chuckle.

"Purple is lovely."

"Yep. Everyone knows that. Same goes for blue and red, maybe gray and gold too."

"And green." Kid added.

Maka furrowed her eyebrows. She didn't reply and instead laid on her side and took an interest in her book.

Kid chose not to bother her anymore and instead opened up the novel. The sight of a small darkened rose petal falling out, baffled him. "What's this?"

Maka reached over before Kid was able to grasp it. She took it in her hands and put it within the novel she was holding. "I found it a few days ago. It's mine."

Kid felt like he had seen that item before, he just couldn't lay a finger on it. Maka didn't give him a chance to dwell on it either, as she laid back down and asked him a question.

"You know how to read right?" She asked.

"Of course. I read the tomes in my father's library all the time."

"Father?" Maka sat up, suddenly regaining the horrifying memories of when she first ran into the reaper. "I almost forgot. You were talking with someone else that day, a bigger version of yourself. Wait, so technically you're not Death, your father is."

"Death is my father, yes." Kid went ahead to clear things up. "I go by Death as well, but I'm used to being called Kid. Death the Kid."

"Death the Kid." She decided not to question the bland imagination of Death's abilities to pick names. "Wait a second, since when does Death have a son? This wasn't in the legend."

"Your legends only go so far Maka." Kid chuckled. "There is a vast world out there that you humans have no knowledge on."

"Like what? Wait, let me guess," Maka made an annoyed look with her eyes. "Vampires are real aren't they?"

"I'm not sure, never seen one."

"You've never seen one? But you're a grim reaper."

"Are you saying that I should know other beings aside from humans because I'm a supernatural creature?"

Maka pursed her lips. "Well, yeah."

Kid couldn't hold in his laugh. Maka was quite amusing, and it quickly came to thought that he had actually held a conversation with her. "Well I see why you would assume that Maka but I will say, I come from a secluded part of the Underworld. I don't get to see much aside from my father."

Maka sat up to face Kid, but after hearing the click of the door, she quickly jumped up and pretended to be picking up her books.

"Hey Maka, I'm home."

"Hey Papa."

"What's going on? How was school?"

Maka gathered the books and faced her father. "It was normal. Same old, you know?"

"That's good. Well I'm gonna head off for a nap. If you go out somewhere let me know."

"I know." Maka replied back with a slight roll of the eyes. Her father replied to her response with a chuckle before closing the door once more.

Maka turned and ran into Kid. "Do you really have to stand so close to me?"

"Why did you get so nervous about the books?"

"What do you mean?" She asked.

"When your father came in, you jumped up and picked up the books. Are you not allowed to have them?"

Maka took a moment to answer. "I wasn't hiding the books, I was hiding you. Death, I mean Kid, being around you isn't normal."

"Is that why you acted so nervous around your friends?"

"Of course! Look, I can't sit and face a wall with a bunch of books and call that normal. It looks like I'm talking to the wall. Other people can't see you so I have to be careful when I talk to you."

"I see."

Maka put the books on her bed. "You sound disappointed."

"I'm not. I just wish I understood humans better. It'd be more helpful."

'  
Kid noted that Maka had trouble sleeping the last two nights. He had watched her toss and turn. He heard rough sighs and annoyed grunts as well. Once she sat up with tired eyes facing his way, it was no doubt that he was now the cause of her insomnia.

"Are you alright?" He asked.

"I guess…" Maka yawned and let herself fall back in bed.

It brought a frown to his face, and so Kid got up and walked over to her. He saw as Maka fiddled with a necklace, the same one from the night before.

She let the necklace around her neck, and clipped it on.

"It's quite lovely on you."

Maka didn't respond much rather than just tilting a frown. It was something she couldn't get herself to talk about. Not to anyone, even her closest friends.

"Does it hold sentimental value?" He asked.

Maka sat up and hunched her shoulders, the distance far from close within her eyes. "It belonged to my mother."

"Where is she? I've never seen her around." As the words left his lips, he instantly felt that he had made a grave mistake.

The wavelength from Maka's soul made sure of that. She brought her knees up to her chest and quietly laced her arms around her legs. It was dead silent apart from the crickets and night traffic echoing from her window.

Still, Kid waited in tender alertness.

"She's gone. She was killed." Maka let out in a quiet whisper. Her eyes were glistening and a she swallowed back the urge to cry. The only reason she decided to tell, was because she needed an answer. And who else to ask but a grim reaper?

And there it was. Kid sat in silence as he felt his mistake, but he figured that he had found a lead to her mysterious atmosphere. He decided to join her and let himself sit next to her. He was the son of Death. Not one soul could know demise better than a grim reaper. "I apologize. But it'll all be fine in time."

"No. It won't. It hasn't been for the last three months." The tears came flooding and she quickly wiped them away as fast as they appeared. "I hate it. I hate it so much. I could've been there with her, but she went off alone... And." Her voice broke off into silence.

Kid kept his distance and left her space. He wasn't sure how to comfort her. He was sure that she wouldn't want a hug from a cloaked up monster and he wasn't necessarily sure how close he get to her in the first place. Maka seemed more isolated than expressive.

"You know." She sniffled and draped her forearm along her eyes. "One myth that we humans acknowledge about the Grim Reaper, is that he appears to those who are going to die. He shows up prior to their death, and it doesn't matter who it is or why, he has just chosen them to go next."

A lonesome frown appeared behind the mask. For as much as Kid loved humans, he knew they had their beliefs on elements such as him. He was far too complex for humans to understand. They feared him, just as his father once said. "Maka, I understand that you have your thoughts. But that's not entirely true. It's much more complex than anyone could imagine."

"So why is she gone? If you're actually real and you are Death or his son, then tell me, why did you take her?!"

Kid didn't answer. But Maka continued her heartburn anyway.

"Where is she?!"

"Maka I don't know."

"You're the reaper aren't you? How could you not know? Or do you and your father not even acknowledge the hundreds of souls that you take each day?!"

Kid was defeated at that. He couldn't answer her questions due to the fact that he absolutely didn't have the answer. His father would, but not him. He was afraid to say anything to her without her lashing out.

Maka turned her mourning into anger instead. Her eyes burned with anger, and Kid wasn't sure if it was her hatred for him that was growing or if it was her anger for the world.

The girl got up and walked on toward the balcony. Kid inhaled a small breath and spoke the only words he would speak for the rest of the night. It was all he was capable of at this point. "All change is hard at first, messy in the middle… but gorgeous at the end."

Maka halted but didn't face him. Kid noticed the drop of her shoulders and heard a small exhale before she proceeded outside.

He sighed to himself, dropping against the balcony doors as Maka shut them. "Her mother was killed." He whispered to himself. It was an awful thought to have in mind. But he wanted to know the answer to the question she had asked as well. Where was she? Had her soul been passed on by either he or his father? "Maka mentioned three months back. But-,"

A sudden gasp was thrown from his voice and his eyes clouded in dismay. Three months? That was the same amount of time that had passed since he failed to reap a man's soul. Though his father had done the job, the man had already done some damage beforehand, and took the life of an innocent young woman. She was blonde, beautiful, and small framed. Just like Maka.

"No..." Kid grasped at the mask and was driven into panic. "Am I... Am I responsible for the death of Maka's mother?"

'

'

 **Responses:**

 **QuantamTheory: I could really really really learn a lot of tricks from you. I really love your advice and having conversations with you is just amazing! I'm curious for the feedback for this chapter already. *hugs***

 **WeightlessWriter: I feel like it's been ages since we've interacted with each others stories. I gotta read your new updates tonight and get some magical reviews out there. I will be updating all my stories as much as I can this month because I really need to get back into routine. I miss hearing from you about my stories so I need to get my ass writing!**

 **OfAllTheShizz: First off, love the pen name. *thumbs up* Second, uh, well Im not too sure. I could probably make Crona have just a minor appearance but I'm not too sure honestly.**

 **Nini Hearts: Thank you for the awesome feedback and the suggestions. I've actually been thinking about the suggestions but I can't be too sure. This is a hard plot to work with already and I have to be careful which moves I make. So some suggestions may pull through, and others may not.**

 **Gothic Girl: Well I can't really reveal any plot details ;) But we'll be finding that out soon.**


	10. Chapter 9: What The Soul Dictates

School hadn't been the best time of the week nor had it been the worst.

Maka got by just like the time flew by. She hadn't realized that she had gotten more quiet than usual around her friends. She also hadn't realized how isolated she initially became. She jumped to the quarterly test as an excuse to be alone. She didn't necessarily lie when she said she was studying but it did pay its toll on those around her.

The reaper didn't help much either. In fact, the two had gotten back to square one. Maka didn't spare him any conversation at all. Only when necessary or whenever he would ask her his neverending questions.

Maka honestly was never one for negativity. It became something that caught her so carefully ever since the angst had taken over. It wasn't just her mother. Her life had always been a labyrinth of challenge. She would have never let anything break her vices of strength. She would have never let anger get to her. But as soon as Maka let herself fall, nothing was the same.

She pondered on that fact. How her life resembled a labyrinth. Maka would carefully choose every twist and turn for her advantage in order to get to the top. She chose paths diligently in contrast to everyone else her age whom never cared for anything. There was no running from problems for Maka. It was always running forward and battling them head on.

Ironically, the one time she ran away, led her to death. And so her life truly became a hell. She was living with the Grim Reaper. Or his son per say. Same thing she were bound together by a curse with no escape. Maka could now say that she was living with Death at her side. How ironic. The one creature she had always despised, had come to haunt her with his abiding order.

Maka sighed and closed her locker. She paced her way out of the school. It wasn't hard for Kid to note her intently flustered emotion as she walked off.

"Are you bothered by something?" He asked.

"No." She returned. "I'm just tired. I wanna go home and sleep."

"You know too much sleep is a bad thing. You should do something more productive like painting or reading."

"What are you my mother-," Maka instantly stopped herself, realizing her mistake.

Kid noted the drop in her mood and saddened at the thought that Maka was hurt. In a way he took the blame all to himself. After all he was the reason why her mother was no longer around. It clawed at him to know that he had done so much to the girl without any form of intention. Kid knew negative emotion like the back of his hand, and would never wish it upon anyone. Especially Maka. She didn't deserve it. She was a beautiful soul, flawed yes but not corrupted.

*"Sas chorigisei tin evolgia tis aionias efytchias."*

"Huh?" Maka faced the reaper.

"It's a blessing. It grants happiness to those whom it's directed to."

"Oh." Maka relaxed her grip on the books in her arms. "T-Thank you…"

"You're welcome."

'

Maka strived for a small nap once she got home, leaving Kid off to himself again.

He didn't mind it much. After all, she still leant him a few books for his entertainment. Kid knew better than to push her into his attention. He knew how feisty she could get and what would make of it.

He was buried far into the book when he heard a loud thud just outside Maka's door. Maka seemed to already be awake as she paced over to peek out the door. Kid slowly met up next to her before she gave him a signal not to speak.

He did so anyway. "What is it?"

"Shh!" Maka placed her ear just at the opening in hopes to hear what was going on.

"What do you hear?"

"My papa is talking to someone. About, hold on."

A few seconds passed and Kid saw the way her eyes widened.

"They let him go?! No they couldn't have."

"Who? I don't understand?" Kid asked.

Maka didn't answer.

"Maka?"

Maka gave him no answer and walked away from the door. She was awfully quiet and Kid felt a sudden anger within her.

"Is everything alright?"

Maka sighed. "Giriko. A man by the name Giriko… He was with the man that… killed my mother…"

"There were two men?" Kid faced down in thought. He harshly remembered that night himself. But the anxiety he went through at the time clouded his focus and so Kid never really remembered that night clearly.

"Yes. Giriko got away of course, but he was caught."

"And now they're letting him-," Kid halted himself when he saw the tears flowing down Maka's face.

"Maka?"

Maka ignored him and paced outside to the balcony.

Kid couldn't muster the worry he felt for Maka. He pulled himself together and let himself trail out the balcony to see Maka wiping away tears with her forearm. She was sniffling and holding in anger.

"I don't get it. Why are people so stupid!?" She inhaled shakily. "You have people who try to be nice to everyone and who wander with good intentions. But they're the ones who get pushed down. They're never taken into consideration. But no, instead it's the dreaded bastards who are at the top. Those who hurt and kill... It's disgusting."

Kid lowered his expression and dared to step closer to the exasperated girl. He stood only feet behind her and fought against her negative emotion. "I understand. But humans are only capable of what they have been taught. They are in need of someone who will teach them anew."

"You're Death aren't you?!" Maka lashed out at him. "So why can't you just take away all the bad souls?!"

Kid wasn't expecting the raging outburst from Maka. But the fierce glare in her eyes said it all. The reaper kept calm behind the mask however. He knew she was hurting. Anger was something all humans felt, and sometimes it could get out of hand. "I'm afraid it doesn't work that way."

"And why not!?" Maka leered close to the damn mask that faced her back. "You can take away those who are good, those who are innocent! It's pathetic. Even an immortal being like you can prove useless to humans. You're nothing but despair." Her voice faltered and the tears of frustration had formed into tears of rage.

Kid stood dead in his feet. He couldn't find the words to comfort the girl or even fight back for that matter. He had to admit that it hurt to hear such thoughts coming from her untouched soul. But it was all out now.

He noted how Maka shook her head and instead found a spot to the far right of the balcony, no longer bothering to pay him any sort of attention.

He sighed. Maka was an interesting mortal. Kid had pondered on her from the first time he saw her. That is to say, her soul shun different from others. He wasn't sure if it was a good or bad thing. Her soul itself was pure and untouched, shining with a consuming light. Kid had learned of these souls to be beyond human. Souls so rare that it was the greatest treasure to possess them. But the problem about Maka, was her emotion. The girl had problems just like other mortals, but she was taking them harder than she should, and was instead corrupting herself. She wanted to be everything but human, while on the other end, Kid wanted to be nothing but.

He dared to take a spot next to her and faced out toward the view she had of the city.

The reaper let out a content sigh and faced out to the city in front of him. Vegas was a lovely place. The way he saw it, it was a combination of hundreds of human cultures all in one city. The greatest of history was held in this place and Kid made the assumption that this was why his father loved Las Vegas so much. It was all in one.

"You have quite a lovely view from here."

Maka dropped a sigh and answered him. Though he guessed that it took all her strength to do so. "It's nothing much. It gets a little dull when you've stared at it for so long."

"The same can be said about many things. But there are those whose fire never dies out."

Maka looked up at the mask rather disappointed. "Like what?"

"Symmetry." The reaper held a smile behind the mask. "The beautiful balance that is constructed by perfect symmetry."

Maka stared at him as if he was completely out of his mind. She didn't bother asking any further questions and instead slumped back in a sulk.

The two were met with a gust of wind that Kid disapproved of almost instantly. Dried up leaves hit his robe and fell to his feet just after. He swiped off any remaining pieces until he met with yellow. It was a simple flower encased with four petals. Kid picked it up and held it closer for his eyes content. Four petals lined the center, making the flower perfectly symmetrical.

"Perfect…"

"Hmm?" Maka dusted off her hair and looked over to see him fixed on the small flower.

"This flower is perfect. It's lined symmetrically."

Maka rose an eyebrow at him. "It's just a flower."

"A symmetrical flower."

"I don't get it. What are you talking about? Why is symmetry so important?"

"Within the beauty of perfect symmetry, lies the aesthetics of a perfect balance. The perfect harmony of freedom and order, which both dictate a perfect world. Within, perfect symmetry..."

Maka glared at him without a clue of what he meant. "What do you mean?"

"Listen Maka, symmetry is the most beautiful aspect in all the world. Symmetry is balance and balance is perfection. It is vital. Especially in a world like this." Kid gazed out toward the city. "Perfect balance will shape the world into a beauty like no other."

"How can you be so sure of that?" Maka questioned.

"I'll make sure." The reaper shot out. "It is my duty to create the perfect world. I do have a lot to learn and many duties complete as a reaper. But if my father taught me anything, it is that I will never stop fighting until the world is the way it should be. Until it is balanced."

Maka let her eyes trail along the city life. People walked along with no care in the world. They walked to their heart's content. "Well, what if the world doesn't want to be balanced?"

"What do you mean? The world doesn't choose. The ones who inhabit it do."

"Good point. So what if humans don't want it to be balanced. What if they want to be free to do as they wish?"

Kid read her figure intently. Suddenly Maka had this burst of defiance that he didn't know she had. "Then humans will fall to their own race. If humans are not abided to anything but freedom, they will fail. Order keeps them safe."

"Again. What if they don't want safety?"

"What are you trying to say Maka?"

"I'm saying that your desire of order within this world may be challenged by humans' desire to be free. Why should order rule freedom?"

"Balance isn't perfect order. Death is. Balance is the perfect equilibrium of it all. Freedom and order need to be balanced in order to dictate a perfect world." Kid felt the apathy burn into a sense of strength within him. Something he hadn't felt in ages. But he let himself stay calm and approached Maka with understanding."You yourself should acknowledge this, as you simply despise the illness that humans can sprout. Understand that one cannot give in to a desire too much. It will spoil them and soil their soul."

"I guess you can be right. After all who am I to challenge a god like you?" Maka let out in defeat, although the tone she gave away seemed like she was just getting started.

Kid responded with a stern glance to her. She turned away and played silent. The act was innocent but it made him feel challenged.

"Just like I have yet to understand the lives of mortals, you have yet to understand the world."

Maka faced over at the mask and loomed into the hollow sockets where the eyes were supposed to be. She knew there was more to him than that mask. And more to him than she could ever know.

They both stared out at the night in silence. Kid shifted and faced his back to the railing. He felt a sudden unease and went off to walk around the balcony. The question that slipped from Maka's voice was enough to catch him off guard.

"What was it like for you, you know, in the underworld?"

Kid trailed back next to her and dropped his expression down to a sulk. "The underworld isn't very lively Maka. It's nothing like Earth realm. Earth has day and night, light and dark. There's the ball of fire in the sky and a pure disk at night. In the underworld, its nothing but hollow." He shifted his weight and leaned against the railing, resting his head on his hands. "Being a reaper isn't very welcoming. It's dark."

"Well what's wrong with darkness?"

Kid knit his eyebrows. "What do you mean? Darkness is evil and terror. It is the very definition of despair. I do not understand why you are questioning that."

An unexpected chuckle came from Maka who simply rested her chin on her hand and glared up toward the sky. "You know how people call darkness evil and haunting? Well I like to think differently about it. Darkness is beautiful. Because without it, none of this right here would exist."

Kid followed her gaze up to the sky. Diamonds of white cascaded their darkened canvas. The sight was truly beautiful.

"In a way it's kind of funny." Maka continued. "Without darkness, light cannot exist and without light, dark would be empty. Neither can exist without the other." Her gaze switched to meet his mask. "I guess that's the beauty of perfect symmetry you've been talking about."

Kid was bewildered at the words that had just been spoken. His eyes were planted on Maka with a newly found trust. This girl, this young human had just revealed the missing truth that he had always searched for in himself.

"Well would you look at that." Maka let out a light chuckle.

"Look at what?"

"We just sort of bonded."

Kid blinked and realized she was right, and this time it ended rather well.

"Also Kid, I apologize."

The reaper furrowed his eyebrows. "For what?"

"I attacked you out of anger the night that I told you about my…mother. I acted irrational and I apologize."

A smile lit up behind that skull he wore. Despite the things that Maka said to him, he knew that there was a side of empathy to her. He hoped to see it more often. "You have my forgiveness. Or as you humans say, apology accepted."

'

'

 **Annnnnnd updated. Finally after all these years!... weeks. Felt like years though. So some major Maka angst here, we'll shed some lighter moods in the next chapters so chill guys xD Also I missed you all so free hugs! And I updated my profile with story info if you wanna check that out too.**

 _*"Sas chorigisei tin evolgia tis aionias efytchias."* = I grant you a blessing of eternal happiness. It's Greek :p_

 **Responses:**

 **QuantamTheory: Ok so the update took way longer than expected. Waaaaay longer. I had a unexpected busy week. But the update is here and I seriously can't wait for your always so wonderful reviews. *hugs***

 **WeightlessWriter:Ok I'm not gonna lie, your review on Graveyard Dancing really made my day. I am so sorry bro, I missed you to! *hugs* I swear I won;t disappear again! Also I am sorry for torturing Kid so much, but it is what I do. It's not like I want to, the story just calls for it ;) Don't worry, our awesome reaper will be seeing better days here soon enough.**

 **OfAllTheShizz: Thanks for the nice review and I wil be checking out your works here when I get the chance. I've been all out of whack lately.**

 **Guest-DeathTheKidOCD: Thanks for the review! Glad to hear those words about my story. Though I can't really answer your question just yet, it'll be in the story.**

 **Guest-Anonymous: I love seeing reviews like these and I am so freaking glad that you love it so much. Sorry to keep you waiting so long for an update though.**


	11. Chapter 10: Behind The Mask

Kid slurred around the classroom as school started for Maka.

All the exhaustion he sensed from the students was making him a little tired as well, even though he didn't exactly understand what that feeling felt like. He could only imagine after being around Maka all day long.

He took a seat on the ground next to Maka's desk as the lesson began. It had now been two weeks since their incident. Two weeks of frustration and heart-wrenching tension. Ever since a few nights ago however, Kid felt that a weight had been lifted off. There was now a sense of mutual understanding between the two. The thought felt welcoming, nonetheless. But the reaper still had a grand problem on his hands.

He hadn't so much as seen his father since the incident...

Kid knew that he made a grave mistake according to the Grim Reaper Code. But it wasn't like his father to play disappointed, not like this.

Then again, Death had been acting out of character long before that day happened, though Kid never wanted to bother him about it.

His father was quite the enigma, always answering questions with more questions or with distant answers. Kid was nowhere near his father's level of intellect, not quite yet. So the young reaper resorted to finding the answers on his own. But there was always one question that Kid held dearly and this question was deep within Death's secrets. It was the fact that his father raised him unlike other reapers.

Now, Kid hadn't seen any more than his father and a few acquaintances. But he didn't need an explanation to know that he wasn't precisely reaper material. It was the heart he held within, that made him different. The heart that was going to lead him to change the world and reapers alike, so he had been told. But there was something more to it. This heart, Kid thought, was the reason Death was so attentive about the curse.

The curse of Death. There was something more to it than Death elaborated. This curse that chained him and Maka held a mysterious secret. Kid felt it when the curse awoke. The dark world that surrounded him added with that soft voice which spoke to him, that was enough to prove his accusation.

" _You will do what your father never could simply due to fear."_

What did that mean and who was it?

There were so many questions in Kid's head. Questions that he would find the answers to under any circumstances.

He was kicked out of his thoughts after hearing a few smart insults being thrown at Maka. The reaper looked up as Maka sighed and replied back to the boy a few seats in front of her. He was teasing her about her intelligence.

Kid knew it was the same boy that always threw crude comments at her. But this time, Kid felt like he was in need of a lesson. There was no way he was going to let a know-it-all bother Maka under those terms.

'

Maka never thought she'd laugh so hard over some bad luck of a fellow student.

Ox Ford had been her rival for the long run, ever since middle school. After all the teasing and low-key bullying he put her through, he was now playing the victim. If it was any weirder to say, it was all the work of Death the Kid.

Maka watched as Kid swung Ox's quiz paper in the air while Ox desperately raced to catch it. She giggled quietly as a few other students joined in on the laughter as they all watched Ox reach left and right while the paper simply swayed away from him. The sight had been quite the show but came to an end once Kid called it quits and landed the paper back onto the desk.

"Seems that your quiz is too smart for you." Maka teased.

"Shut it Albarn. You won't be saying that once I get the top score for the week yet again."

"Tsk. We'll see about that." Maka rested her chin in her hands. Ox always found to get under her skin.

Her gaze narrowed in at the reaper as he stood next to her desk again, her eyes studying that mask of his.

She owed him a thank you after class. It definitely paid off to have an invisible body guard on her side. She just never expected Kid to actually use his abilities to defend her like that.

The tension between the two had finally lightened since the conversation they had a few nights before. They had come to a mutual understanding and it strangely lifted a weight off Maka's chest.

She guessed that she had gotten used to him now, on a small level. She wasn't sure that she would ever fully accept him into her life but who could be so sure? She was stuck with him until death. Anything could change for them during the years to come. Good and bad…

The rest of the school day continued with a few boring lesson routines which Maka had no desire to pay attention to.

She figured she could pull a few strings this time seeing that her grades were more than great. Actually there was really only one reason why she was so distracted. It was due to the son of Death himself who was walking around all the students and observing them. Maka caught herself chuckling a few times. He was almost like a child in a way, exploring all that he could and trying to wrap his mind around everything.

She had to remember that he wasn't entirely used to being in the company of humans. Maka had no idea if it was even okay for him to be around humans or not. After all, he emitted a coldness that stung at anyone who was within feet of his presence. She had gotten used to it now however. Maka was also sure that he was the reason she constantly had nightmares. Of course, it wasn't intentionally his fault. She wasn't willing to lay the blame strictly on him.

It felt weird to say that she now sympathized him. It wasn't a bad thing. It was just that a part of her still wished that it was all some sort of nightmare. Her reverie was far from true however, she knew that well. The only bothersome aspect about the reaper now was that mask. She had caught him pulling it on a few times whenever she woke up in the mornings. Though she wasn't quick enough to catch any facial details. It was going to bother her if she was the one giving away all her secrets. She had already shown the reaper most of the reasons why she was essentially hurt. She didn't want to be the only one telling some secrets here.

Maka dropped a yawn and decided to put her thoughts aside.

'

After the bell dismissed the end of the school day, Maka strut out to her locker with Kid following slowly behind.

"Hey."

She felt a hand on her shoulder as she was putting her books away in her locker. She looked over to find Soul leaning at the locker next to hers.

"You're killing me Maka. You've been so quiet lately. Is there anything you wanna talk about?"

Maka blinked a few times. "No I'm fine. I've just been restless lately." Restless may have been a complete understatement at this point.

"Restless because you're always cooped up at home. Why don't you come hang out with us after school? It's been a while since all four of us went out."

Maka subconsciously looked over to Kid, thinking up all the bad scenarios that would occur if she agreed with Soul. "Uh well-,"

"Another excuse?" Soul cut her off before she could finish. "Maka I get that you're going through hard times. But you won't get better on your own."

Maka couldn't find an answer to reply with.

"Maka?"

She noted the assertive tone in his voice, but still refused to answer. Soul let out a heavy sigh and began to walk away and Maka felt heat in her chest.

"Soul, wait." Maka closed her locker and caught up with him.

"Change your mind?"

Maka sighed. "I suppose it can't be too bad right?"

"I'll tell Star to go easy on basketball if that's what you're saying." Soul let out a chuckle and held open the exit door for Maka.

"Not basketball, please." Maka groaned. "Anything but that.

"Movie night?"

Maka got lost in her thoughts for a second, dwelling at the risks of taking a grim reaper to a movie theatre. Note to self, it would be wise to keep him away from the horror movies.

"Maka?"

"Huh? Oh right, sorry. A movie would be great. What kind of movie?"

"Let's catch up with the others and see what they think." Soul adjusted his headband. "It's nice to finally talk to you for once, you know?"

Maka frowned and turn her head slightly away.

"Always such a buzz kill." Soul playfully threw an arm around her and tugged her in. "You know that?"

"Shut up Soul." Maka couldn't help but smile.

"I see that smile."

Maka let out a light sigh. "Maybe I missed being around you guys."

"Then come out of your fortress of solitude more often and you won't be so bummed out anymore."

Maka let out a small chuckle. "We'll see." She walked on with Soul.

Kid kept a distance as he followed the two. He didn't want to cause Maka to feel restricted in any way. She deserved to have a worry free day for once since the two had met. Kid only wished the distance between them wasn't shortened by punishment.

He wasn't sure how he was going to adapt to the obstacles that were forming. As hard as it was for Maka to deal with the curse, it wasn't any easier on his end. And given the vital piece of information he had gained about her mother, Kid had no idea what was to make of the entire situation.

On the other hand, Kid was observing Maka intently. Her radiance was lifted now that she was around her friend. Soul wasn't so hard to read. He was the type with a hard exterior but a soft core. Careless yet protective. Kid knew well that he was someone who Maka put her trust into.

To hear Maka's laugher for the first time ever, even if it was soft, stirred up a fire inside of the reaper. She was slowly showing another side of herself. The good side, he believed.

He looked up ahead at a group of teenagers whom he barely familiarized with. They were a few of Maka's friends. The same blue haired rowdy one Kid knew as Star. Along with the composed dark haired girl, Tsubaki.

"Maka!"

Maka was thoroughly greeted by both of them.

Kid couldn't help but stare at the beautiful smile that painted Maka's face as she met with them.

'

Though Kid spent his time floating up above on his skateboard during the movie, it still didn't stop him from studying Maka's person.

Of course, he was invisible even to Maka this time, as she was gorgeously smiling her way throughout the time that passed.

He hadn't a clue what was up on that giant screen, but whatever it was sure made everyone spit giggles and laughter. But his interest was precisely in her.

His eyes dug into that soul of hers, looking for the answers to his questions. Kid was very entertained by the fact that she was actually smiling. He didn't know exactly why, but since Maka never really smiled, he guessed that was the reason why she lit up the entire room.

This was her good side. The real Maka that was underneath all the negative emotions she held. She was finally letting go and relaxing herself. Kid wanted to savor every moment of it. And so he did...

'

Once the movie ended, Maka was joined by her friends all the way home.

Maka didn't debate and continued socializing about the movie. It was only when she realized that the reaper would not stop staring at her that she felt uncomfortable to talk anymore.

"Tired?" Soul asked.

Maka faked a yawn. "Just a little."

"Here have a sip of my energy drink, it'll pump you up!"

"Uh, no thanks Star. Really I'm fine."

Soul put an arm around Maka. "So did you have fun? We weren't too bad were we?"

"Oh you were terrible, so so terrible." Her sarcastic remark brought her to giggle.

Soul nudged her arm. "Hey you should consider yourself lucky that we didn't trample you in basketball. Then you could call us terrible." He gave Maka a toothy grin.

"Well you're not wrong." She chuckled.

By the time they all made it to Maka's house, she gave her goodbyes and headed upstairs to her room. She took a content sigh and fell back onto her bed.

The amused reaper chuckled and took his chance to finally talk. "You're happy."

"Hey, it's been months since I went out like that." Maka replied as she sat up. Kid noted the upbeat tone in her voice.

"Then why don't you do it more often?"

"Well, because…" Maka couldn't find a genuine answer.

"You do know that your friend is right? You should get out more often. It'll lift the sorrows away."

"Now you're telling me what to do?" Maka chuckled. "Maybe I'll take the hint. Besides, you weren't so bad yourself."

"What do you mean?" Kid rose an eyebrow behind the mask.

"I noticed how you kept your distance and stayed quiet." Her smile tilted down to a slight frown. "I just hope it didn't hurt you since you kept so far away from me this time."

"It, didn't..." Surprise was the only emotion that Kid felt at this point. "I just figured you could use some space..."

"Thank you." Maka went ahead and walked toward the balcony. "Wanna come outside?"

Kid could barely get his feet moving. He knew she was in a great mood but he wasn't sure how to react. "Erm, Maka?" Kid met her out at the balcony, instantly feeling relieved as the night air swayed on him.

"It's so peaceful tonight. Usually you hear nothing but obnoxious honking."

Kid smiled and joined her side. "How long have you been hiding this?"

"Hiding what?"

"This side of you."

The blonde took her gaze away at the comment. She was more at a loss for words rather than bothered.

"You should wear this face more often, just a suggestion."

"Yeah?" Maka let a slight smirk smear her face. "Maybe I will if you stop wearing that one."

The reaper froze at those words and felt his throat dry. "W-What do you mean? I was sure this was my real face, last I checked." Kid decided to play this time. There was no way he was going to reveal himself, strictly due to the fact that he had no idea what it would do to her. Reapers were special beings with special abilities. With those abilities also came dangerous effects among mortals and he didn't plan to risk anything else happening to her.

Maka chuckled. "Anyone with eyes can tell that's a mask. It really isn't hard to tell."

"Anyone with sanity would never tell Death to take off his mask. It really isn't something you would want to see." Kid mirrored her words.

"But you're not Death." Maka set a firm tone. "You're his son. You have arms and legs under that robe. I have a feeling you're hiding something more."

Kid kept silent. He caught Maka burning those emerald eyes into him. He shifted as he was consumed with a sudden nervousness.

"Kid?"

Kid swallowed. "Yes?"

"I've told you my secrets. I believe it'll only be fair if you could at least show me who you really are."

The reaper didn't so much as move.

Maka sighed, but she stood directly in front of the reaper. Kid took a few steps backwards only for Maka to follow him every step of the way until, he felt himself against the wall.

"Maka w-what are you doing?"

She didn't answer.

Kid only watched. His back was against the wall as she leaned closer to him, her hand reaching up to his mask. Nervous breathing evaded him as her hand met with the skull. His face grew hot with red, and he felt as the mask slowly, left his flesh.

'

'

 **Ok my internet has been out for legit two weeks and I think I was dying to just update this more than you guys were dying for the update... Also I am sure that I pissed a few people off with this cliff hanger *smirk*. I love you guys so its only proper of me.**

 **QuantamTheory: Again with the heartfelt reviews! You help me so much you have no idea. *hugs***

 **WeightlessWriter: I've really gotta stop disappearing like this. Im alive I swear! I'm delighted that you enjoyed the last chapter. I did rush it just a bit but it's always great to hear feedback from an amazing author like you.**

 **Kirychan1226: Such a heartfelt review. I feel accomplished. P.S, I hope this chapter keeps you on your toes. xD**

 **Gothic Girl: Thanks for the love, I'm glad you're loving this and it's great that it's helping you keep your mind off things.**


	12. Chapter 11: Touch of Eyes

A white skull made its way to the floor.

Maka stared in awe, her emerald eyes failing to leave what stood before her. This son of Death was... Beautiful.

Maka couldn't push her gaze away, but Kid seemed to do the job as he hung his head to the side, as if embarrassed to show himself. He didn't know why he was hiding, but if there was a name for the fear of people seeing you well, that would've been it.

Warmth was planted on his cheek and he breathed shakily as Maka lifted his head to meet her gaze.

Death wasn't here anymore. This boy whom stood before showed no sign of anything inhumane. This reaper was completely human. The skin she felt from his face was smooth and held a bright paleness to it. His hair was hauntingly dark and lush, with three white rings cutting onto the left. They seemed to glow actually. It was strange but she guessed it had something to do with being a reaper which was perhaps the only supernatural aspect about him. Until she caught herself reflected in something golden.

She met her eyes back with his. To those that said blue was the beauty of all irises, this reaper possessed eyes of pure treasure. Shimmering gold met back with her emerald green. Maka could feel a tug inside her, as if the reaper attempted to steal her soul with a mere glance. Or maybe it was just the infatuation she was giving off. He was gorgeous. However it wasn't a feeling of attractiveness that lured her in so much. It was just the element of surprise. She would have never expected him to be so...

"You're so, human."

Kid's only answer came from the anxious breaths he exhaled.

Maka let her hand slowly fall from his face and took a step back.

His golden gaze followed her wearily. Neither of them really knew how to react and so they were caught in an awkward stare down.

"I uhm," Maka broke the silence for a mere moment, hoping Kid would speak up and say something back. That wasn't the case however. The reaper instead looked down at the mask and reached for it.

"No!" Maka stopped him.

"What are you doing?"

"Don't put it back on!"

Kid faced her in confusion and tried to understand what he was doing wrong since Maka had an angry stare fixed on him.

"You look... You look almost human."

His eyes seemed to narrow, and Kid faced away from her. "I'm not human. I'm everything but..."

Maka watched as he proceeded to put the mask on once again. She interrupted him halfway, and lowered the mask from getting near his face.

"Maka please,-"

"Why do you wish to hide this?"

"I don't understand what it is that's so fascinating about me."

"You're less daunting this way." Maka held back the truthful words she wished to speak. But complimenting his alluring image wasn't going to lift the awkward from this situation.

"I'm Death aren't I? I'm supposed to be frightening."

"OK now you're playing the stereotype game?" Maka put her hands to her hips. "Gimme the mask!"

Kid held up the mask as Maka tried to grab it. However she leaned up against him and caused the reaper to lean over the balcony.

"Maka?!" Kid lost his balance and fell over the railing along with Maka.

Maka clung onto the reaper and predicted the worst. But she felt a sudden jolt and opened her eyes to find herself feet above the floor. She looked up at Kid, who merely glared his golden irises at her neutrally.

"You can fly?" She asked.

"Not exactly." Kid eyed down at his feet.

Maka followed his gaze and realized he was standing on a, skateboard?

"If I wasn't used to my life being insane, I would be screaming my lungs out right now." Maka held on and looked around to make sure no one had seen what happened.

"You don't need to worry. My reaper aura masks your image from mortals. We are both invisible right now."

"Oh what do you know, more insanity." Maka exhaled. "Can we go back to my room now?"

Kid answered by levitating upwards. He felt Maka tighten around him as he did so. It felt unnatural seeing that he had never been in contact with anyone before.

"This feels kinda cool." Maka chuckled. "You use this to get around?"

"Yes. It was a gift from my father. I used to fly it everywhere around Earth."

"You used to fly around the world? For what?" Her eyes questioned him.

"Sight-seeing. Observing and understanding. It's my favorite pass time."

Maka lowered her head in a sudden guilt. "Your favorite pass time? But you can't anymore, because you're chained to me."

Kid didn't say anything in return and hovered upwards until they were at level with the balcony.

"Kid wait."

"What is it?"

Maka thought for a moment, before mustering up the words to leave her tongue. "Let's fly somewhere, around the city."

Kid's face was far from satisfied and instead twirled with disbelief. As if he had just heard an animal perform a wrong sound.

"Why would you want to do that?"

"Because this is actually really cool! You have a hover board Kid, humans dream of technology like this. And like I said, I took away your freedom of doing things you liked... And here I was playing selfish and thinking you took away my freedom."

"We took each other's. Maka this curse did equal damage. Do not delude yourself."

She sighed.

"But if you would really enjoy a small trip around the city, I'd be more than willing to accept."

Maka lost herself in the sound of his voice before taking in what he actually said. She nodded and pressed her arms along his back as he slowly lifted off.

It felt like something out of a movie as he smoothly carved the way into the wind. Maka buried her head into the reaper's neck, cautiously aware that she could fall at any moment if she became nervous enough. Kid took notice of this and stopped in mid-air.

"Are you all right?" His soft voice swam through her ears.

"It's just gonna take some getting used to. That's all."

"We can go back to your room if you'd like. Maka I am not urging you to do anything."

Maka inhaled some air. "Kid I'm fine. This feels nice and it's so lovely out here."

It was somewhat awkward, but she felt his arms wrap around her, and Maka gained a little more trust.

"Better?" He asked, although the nervousness in his voice couldn't be hidden.

"Yeah. Let's go."

'

Cold wind caressed her face. They were at the base of the city, both of them pondering on the sight of Vegas' most luxurious sights.

Maka had lived in the city her whole life but she had to admit, seeing such a view from a high perspective brought out the real life of the city and not the sinful life which was down below.

"Lovely, isn't it?"

Maka smiled at Kid's comment. "It looks amazing."

Kid faced over and let his eyes fall over her. This was the first time in weeks that he had been free to do as he pleaded. But seeing that Maka was here with him and that she had handed him her trust was rewarding. The reaper would have never imagined himself standing beside anyone but his father. Especially hundreds of feet within the air.

"Why are you staring at me like that?"

"Huh?" Kid shook his head.

"You were staring at me you doofus. I ain't eyeball candy just because I let you bring me up here."

The reaper blinked a few times before averting his gaze. His moment of staring was purely platonic however he knew Maka wouldn't see such innocence.

"I apologize."

Maka seemed to giggle at the comment. "Geez, I need to teach you how to be human."

"What do you mean by that?" Kid rose an eyebrow at her, and Maka was sure that those eyes of his were capable of luring out answers.

"I mean, you're so formal and respectful. Not that it's a bad thing, of course it isn't. It's just maybe you could be just a little more laid back and-,"

"And be what you would call "cool" perhaps?" Kid cut her off.

"Well when you put it that way you're making me sound like a stuck up popular girl." She chuckled. "I'm just saying that maybe it would be okay to teach you how humans act and talk."

"Maka, I know my image compels you but I am nowhere near human. I could never be one of you, no matter what image I take."

The blonde slid her hands down his arms and met his palms. "It's not about your physical image, it's about your emotional one."

The reaper kept his golden eyes fixed on their hands. His heart raced in his chest, a sensation he had never felt unless due to fear. But fear wasn't the case here. He felt unnatural; out of place. His mask wasn't here to hide him. He was free to the world and more importantly, free to this mortal who had now trusted herself to him. His heart was racing because he was letting himself be free.

Kid let a smile carve his face and locked his sight onto his favorite building. "Hold on."

"Wha- Ah!" Maka clung onto him as he sped through the air without a second to spare. "Kid what the hell!" Her own hair attacked her face and forced her to bury herself into his chest. Once she felt them land, she took a peek to realize that Kid had landed them on a skyscraper.

She looked up and took notice of the architecture. "This is the replica of the Chrysler building. Which means we're standing?" Maka tried not to panic when she saw the gargoyles only feet away from her. Kid had landed her on a narrow ledge thousands of feet in the air. Good thinking.

"Uh Kid this is awesome and everything but can we find a different place to be, you know maybe a spot where we won't risk me falling?"

"I won't let you fall, trust me."

Maka didn't reply. She focused on the way the gold in his eyes reflected the city lights in front of them. He was so fascinated in everything that he witnessed, as if he were a child seeing the world for the first time. Then again he inherently was. Maka had to keep note that he was from the underworld. She was the one who had brought him closer to the company of humans. And though he seemed rather innocent and gentle, Maka had no idea what this reaper was capable of. After all, he was the son of the Death himself, whether Kid accepted himself or not.

"Do you want to go back?" His voice led her out of her thoughts.

"Well it is a little late, if my dad finds out I'm not in my room he'll have a panic attack." She chuckled.

"Right…" He trailed off for a few moments before summoning the skateboard once more.

This time Maka witnessed it, cautiously watching as dark creature-like bands of energy escaped his hands to summon the skateboard. He then reached out his hand to her.

"Let's go."

Maka took his hand and glared into his eyes just before he led them on the way back to her house. This felt more like a dream at this point. Could this reaper honestly look the way he did? This whole time she thought she was living with death, only to find that she was living with an angel.

'

'

 **And we meet once again. How is everyone? Have I missed anything? Any new KiMa fics I should be checking out? Well I'll have you guys know that I am on my way to writing up the next chapters to all my current stories. Yes I say that a lot but seriously, I WILL get more frequent updates out there for you awesome readers. *hugs* And if you can't get enough of me (Hah yeah right), I recently made a Tumblr account where nothing but Soul Eater ensues so if you wanna check it out just search up Ithedreamer444 and maybe, perhaps, hit the follow button :)**

 **Anyways, let's get to the reviews:**

 **Darkanimeprincessmarie: I honestly hope Maka's reaction wasn't too vague. But there will be a lot more where that came from so stay tuned.**

 **Kairi671: I just love cliffhangers xD I am loving how much you enjoy the slow progressio of their relationship. It took long for me to piece everything together in order to make them grow along with each other throughout this story. I can't wait to get some more chapters out for you to enjoy.**

 **QuantamTheory: I feel accomplished about the way Maka slurred to her sympathical side in that last chatper. It took a great deal of writing and deleting to get it all mapped out. Kid came along more naturally which helped out greatly.**

 **WeightlessWriter: Right? I suppose we both need to get our asses back to writing full-time. It took a great deal of rewriting in order for me to get Maka out of her usual mood but it came out pretty great. I believe her moody days are behind her from here on out. But that's the least of Kid and Maka's worries now. *evil smirk***

 **LexoSaurus: You are awesome! I haven't had a review as fired up as this one in ages!**

 **mysterygirlanonymous: Hey welcome back! *hugs* It's been ages. Thanks for keeping up with this story, it means alot. And I hope this chapter met expectation. Hope xD**

 **Guest: Sorry to keep you waiting, and thanks for the lovely review. You're awesome.**


	13. Chapter 12: Only Time Will Tell

"Doesn't it get uncomfortable sleeping against the wall every night?"

Kid looked up at the blonde as if he had misheard. The two had returned from their small trip around the city skyline and now Kid wasn't sure what else to expect from her. He felt naked and vulnerable without his mask. Sure he had felt free and alive out there, back on his skateboard and seeing the world. But now that he was back at his usual spot against the wall, he regretted having been given the chance of riding Beezlebub around Vegas. He would have rather not tasted that short-lasting satisfaction.

"Kid?"

He shook his head. "Sorry. What was it that you asked?"

Maka sat at the edge of her bed, yawning and rubbing her eyes. "I asked if it got uncomfortable sitting in the same spot all day."

"Well to be discreetly honest, it tends to get rather miserable. Why do you ask?"

She looked over to the empty half of her bed. "I don't know if you sleep or what you do at night, but feel free to just take a spot and read a book or something."

"Er," Kid pursed his lips. "Are you saying I'm allowed to uh, sit on your bed?"

Maka chuckled. "Well it wouldn't be such a crime if you did so. I'm just giving you the ok. I already told you that you don't have to stay in that spot all the time. Go ahead and check out some books or whatever it is that you do to pass the time."

"So far I finished that book you leant me. I haven't tried looking at the others on the shelf however." Kid walked over to the shelf next to Maka's bed.

She watched as he flipped past the books. "You never really told me what you do for fun. I mean aside from using the hoverboard."

"Beezlebub is what I call it. And there isn't much to a reaper's life Maka." Kid took out a book and observed it. "Really all I've ever done is bask around in my father's library or study humans."

Maka patted a spot for Kid to sit down after he took a book.

"And aside from that, my reaper duties. However those have been postponed." He sat with a light bounce.

"Postponed? Oh because of the curse, right…"

Kid blinked. He knew that wasn't the literal reason but it was a good excuse. There was no way he would tell Maka the truth about the incident four months back. "Y-Yeah." He cleared his throat.

Maka watched as he searched through the novel he was holding. "The Dark Side of the Moon."

The reaper smiled. "This is the book you are always carrying with you, no?"

"It's my favorite." Maka avoided smiling too bright. He probably noted every single detail about her in a matter of a day. God knows how long she waited for anyone to notice such minor details about herself.

She laid back and fell into her pillow. "It's a good read. You'll love it."

"I look forward to it. You should get your rest. You still have school tomorrow."

"Ugh, don't remind me." Maka groaned.

"What is it about education that humans dread so much? I don't seem to understand, is it really that bad?"

"Well where to begin." She cleared her throat. "Waking up early in the morning sucks, having idiots annoying you while you're trying to take notes or read sucks, having to be in bed early even though you want to finish a book or tv series gets annoying… Hm what else? Oh yeah, sometimes the teachers suck too."

"Doesn't sound so bad. Humans are just lazy." Kid giggled.

"Lazy? Hey you don't have to deal with a deranged father or weird friends all day." Maka grunted.

"You do have quite a weird father and friends. And they all say weird words that I've never heard of before. Like ass and swag, and yolo."

"Yeah don't. Just don't say those things. Please."

"Sure thing." He sighed. "I just feel like an outcast sometimes. I mean obviously I am but I always thought I knew how humans worked. But it turns out I really don't know anything about them at all." Kid let himself lay back and faced down at the pillow underneath him.

"Well." Maka scooted closer to the reaper, the two now lying next to each other. "What do you wanna know?" She watched as his eyes scanned around in thought. Once they met back with her own, she had to hold back the small blush that attempted to stain her face.

"Well I've always wanted to know what sleep is. I understand that all humans do it and that it's natural. But how does it work exactly?"

Her green eyes bore into him with a newly found sympathy. She almost wanted to know what was going on in his head most of the time. The son of Death himself was here, chained to her. He wanted to be human so bad that it almost hurt her to know that he suffered. He was a terrifying creature in the eyes of others but in her eyes and in his true nature, all he was, was a young boy who wanted nothing but mortality.

She let her touch carve along his dark hair, feeling the softness that each lock emitted. Kid didn't hesitate, after all he probably welcomed the warm comfort with open arms. Maka continued to trail her hand across his face. She didn't speak and instead baffled him by trailing the bridge of his nose. This was followed by his eyebrow twitching as her touch scanned along his eyes. "All this, is the body's natural reaction right? So sleep is almost the same concept. The body gets tired throughout the day and needs to rest. As a result, we shut down and naturally our body sleeps, while our mind drifts off into dreams."

She shifted onto her back. "It's all just a natural reaction." A yawn escaped her lips and she let her head rest against her pillow. She faced Kid who innocently stared intently at her.

"So the body sleeps, and the mind dreams. Dreams are?"

"Dreams are, hm." She took a moment to think, but nothing clear came to mind. "Dreams are unexplainable. You can't understand them because they are what you want them to be, but at the same time they are what they want to be. It's confusing, but really they're the most phenomenal thing about us humans. As we sleep, we get lost in our own little world."

Kid knit his eyebrows. "I think I understand. What do you dream about?"

"In my dreams, I am in charge of my own little world. I'm free and have all the freedom to be myself without anyone else countering me. The clouds are always at my feet, and the stars are always in my reach." She twinged a sudden frown. "Though lately my dreams haven't been so pleasant."

The young reaper pondered on what Maka was elaborating. He couldn't necessarily imagine what dreams were or how they worked within the mind. For someone who hadn't spent a night asleep since he was born, it was something almost alien-like to him.

He watched as her hand trailed back toward his face. "I still can't believe how human you are." She trailed a finger along his nose and caused him to stifle.

Kid recovered from the sudden reaction and in return, met a hand to hers and curiously studied her. "I've never been so close to a human before..." He studied the details inscribed within Maka's hand, all while checking his own. No difference could be seen. A scuffle of line patterns inscribed his hands as well as Maka's. "I know I have the image of a human, but I never would've thought that we'd be so alike."

She smiled at his lovely curiosity before letting out another yawn. Maka shifted onto her side and gently dropped her eyes closed. "It feels nice to see the real you." She let out another yawn and left Kid in the night ambience.

He didn't mind, and instead continued to ponder on the human race. Since being with Maka at school and the likes, he had learned so much he would have never known. He still had thousands of questions that he needed answered. His curiosity consumed him and he just needed to know everything that he could about being human. But he knew that wish was blasphemy to everything his father had raised him to believe.

Speaking of which, his father hadn't been seen ever since Kid took on this curse. Kid guessed he had finally pulled the final straw. He was alone on this one. Just him, the curse, and no knowledge of what could possibly happen to Maka in future time. He would protect her at all costs, no matter the enemy. But he knew he couldn't do a damn thing if the enemy was himself.

He looked over at her sleeping form. She had barely fallen asleep so he couldn't expect to see any distress from her features. But the unpleasant dreams she had been having, he knew he was the reason. The deathly aura from his reaper cloak instilled fear in anyone who came near. And Maka had been harshingly close to that wavelength for too long. Kid only hoped her condition was temporary. However, now that she had seen his true form he had no idea what to expect.

Kid was startled by a sudden voice that came from the otherside of Maka' s door. Then he realized it was only Maka's father saying goodnight.

His thoughts made it upon Maka's father and how different the man was in contrast to his daughter. Sure the reaper shared his differences from his own father but Maka's father was just strange. He was childish judging from most of the times Kid had seen him. And he was quite weird. In fact, the last time Kid headed off with Maka to school, he heard a strange repetitive word coming from the man as he was holding a small bag of who knows what.

"Maka? I need to ask you something."

She didn't answer.

"Maka?" Kid poked her arm.

"W-What?"

"I need to ask you something."

Maka responded with a small hum in hopes giving Kid the idea that she wanted to doze off into slumber. But he continued anyway, she just didn't expect his question to be so stupid. Courtesy of her father.

"What are panties?"

"Seriously?" Maka let a small giggle out and effortlessly let Kid fluster with his curiosity.

"Your father kept repeating that word and I don't understand. Is it a,-"

"Kid, it's a piece of clothing..." Maka yawned once more and pulled the sheets over herself.

"Oh." He pursed his lips. "Do I have this piece of clothing?"

"I certainly hope not..." She mustered a small chuckle before dozing off again.

"I don't understand Maka,"

"Kid just, shush."

Kid was as confused as ever, but he shut himself up and instead watched as Maka drifted into slumber. He smiled. Her face was calm and free from all worry. He rested his hands upon hers. He thought for a moment and closed his eyes. He had never slept before. But he could try. He didn't see no harm in it.

He gently tightened the bonding of their hands and let his mind go blank. He focused on nothing more but the warmth radiating from Maka. Before he knew it, he was gone.

'

'

 **This update was supposed to come out way sooner than this but since I'm visiting relatives, finding alone time with my laptop is almost impossible.**

 **Chapter 13 & 14 will be out during KiMa week along with 2-3 oneshots for the occasion so be on the lookout for those. **

**Annnnd a huge thank you for all the reviews everyone. And to that one guest who kept spamming me with the 'update please', thank you, otherwise I would've taken like another month to get this update out.**


	14. Chapter 13: A Slave to Life and Death

Reality was dissolved, and all that commenced were strange illusions.

Nothing could have prepared Kid for the foreign images that were caught within his eyes. It was all so strange. He could see, but not move. The world around shifted from the gloomy underworld he had grown so used to seeing, and then into pure nothingness.

Was this what dreaming was?

Then again, Maka had said that not everyone had pleasant dreams. But Kid wasn't sure what to think or feel about what came of this, "dream."

"Do you want to know?"

He froze at the sound of the whispering voice. It didn't take long for him to recognize the feminine voice as the same one that intervened the world around him, the day when he saved Maka's life. His eyes shifted back and forth in search of the voice's owner, but he found nothing.

"The heir to the throne." The voice let out a sort of graceful laughter. "Your father couldn't hide you for long."

"Who are you!" Kid finally yelled. His voice merely echoed off into the darkness and no response was made.

Kid felt the rest of his body now and he could move slightly. The nothingness around him was illuminated with a small cloud of white. Kid dared to walk on closer.

"You will do what your father couldn't."

Those words struck at him. He had been told that same line when he had chosen to rescue Maka... The day the curse awakened.

But Kid didn't understand what those words meant. Or why the person saying them was so keen on hiding from him.

The womanly voice threw those words at him again and the very sound seemed to pound on him. Almost as if the words were pushing against him.

He felt smothered and isolated. Nothing of this dream was any pleasure to him. Although the voice had become silent, Kid still felt helpless and weak in this dark world. He wanted to escape this. He would have preferred sitting against the wall again.

"This isn't normal." His breathing suddenly felt heavy and for a moment, the reaper realized he was gasping for air. He realized that he felt mortal.

Kid jolted up with a shaking frame. He gasped a few breaths before he realized he was back in Maka's room. His legs felt wobbly when he stood up. So he sat back down and tried to settle.

That voice in his head, it kept repeating that same line over and over again.

"You will do what Death couldn't."

What was it that he was supposed to do? And why hadn't his father done it?

Kid didn't understand.

He faced back at a sleeping Maka who was soundly dreaming away. Kid didn't think it was a good idea to lay down again. He decided dreaming should stay with the mortal world and away from any godly entities. So instead, he found a place back at the wall and tried to calm his thoughts. But the more he thought, the more questions he had.

His father had never told him anything. Every question that Kid ever had was answered with some philosophical quo. Kid wanted the hard truth not safe lies.

Perhaps if his father had only told him the straight truth, then this entire mess with the curse wouldn't have happened.

That's not to say that Kid regretted being with Maka. In fact, he was growing fond of seeing her on her good side. But that didn't change the fact that his father hadn't so much as tried contacting him.

"Father..." He whispered into the dark.

The thought of the supreme reaper caused Kid to clench his grip into his cloak.

Kid had tried not to dwell on it much, but it had been too long now. And although his father was hard to reach in the first place, Kid didn't find it like him to leave his son completely behind.

Kid understood it. He messed up. He broke reaper code and he messed up. And he wasn't sure he was going to be able to shake that thought, no matter how much the situation between he and Maka got better.

'

'

"Maka? Sweetie get up, its time for school."

Kid watched as Maka turned and ignored her father's attempt to wake her. Which was actually unusual of her. She usually had no problem waking up to the alarm.

"What time did you fall asleep last night Maka? Come on, you're gonna be late."

"I'm up. I'm up." She grunted and sat up.

Kid noticed something was off about her. Aside from the fact that it took more than the alarm and light nudges to wake her. She had just woken up but her features didn't seem tired. She looked drained.

He shook the thought and waited as she got ready for school.

It was vaguely quiet as they walked toward the school. Maka's occasional yawns broke the silence every now and then and Kid decided to speak up.

"Are you feeling all right?"

"Y-Yeah." She dropped another yawn. "I'm just a little sleepy."

"Its odd of you. You don't usually sleep through your alarm."

She didn't respond but Kid noticed the twitch of her frown. He figured that they both had the same idea. Being so close to him may have caused her almost death-like slumber. Kid would have rather avoided that word but since it took her father ten minutes of calling and nudging to wake her, there wasn't much else he could use to describe it.

He watched as she struggled to keep her eyes open. "Maka?"

"I'm fine Kid." She shook her head. "I'm sure it's just one of those days. It's almost the end of the year and school has been pretty hard on me, you know?"

Kid closed his eyes and didn't reply. He regretted taking off his mask from the moment it happened. Endangering Maka yet again was not on his to-do list. Though he still had no proof that this sudden tiredness was because of him. Kid only hoped it wouldn't escalate into anything else.

Maka felt soft nudges on her cheeks while she nearly fell asleep in class. She opened her eyes to see Kid pointing to her teacher as he drew a diagram on the board.

'Yeah yeah.' She grunted in her thoughts as she reached for her pencil with a yawn.

Her body felt heavy for some reason. She didn't want to think that Kid had anything to do with it. She was just tired, exhausted more like. It was just one of those days, so she told herself.

It wasn't in her interest to make the Reaper feel worry for her. Maka could handle her own and she was willing to accept the consequences of being chained to him. It was all she could do anyway. Not necessarily because of the idea that she was stuck with him until her own death. But because he actually did something no else could. He changed her to be her self again. In his own little way, he tried to help her cope with her demons. And he was succeeding.

She twinged a small smile and did her best to ignore her lazy condition.

The feeling finally began to lift off during her second class. Which was a buzz kill since she woke up just in time for P.E.

"Maka watch the basket!"

Playing basketball was a big no for the blonde. Especially when she was given the ball and was expected to throw it into the basket. She had no idea how her friends made it look so easy.

She watched as Soul made his way to the opposite basket and scored a point.

She crossed her arms and smiled. "Always make it look so easy."

Kid shot her a confused look. "I don't understand this, game. How does it work?"

She shrugged her shoulders, basically telling the reaper that she had no better understanding than he did.

She was about to walk closer to the team until a flash of blue clouded her vision. She saw a flash of negative coloring, the kind you'd find in a camera filter that changed darks to blues and whites.

She grabbed her head and looked around. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary. "What just...?"

"Maka?" Kid faced her.

"Maka watch out!"

Maka watched the ball coming towards her just in time for someone to use their arm as a block.

Soul gave her a look. "Dozing off is gonna get you hurt small fry. Remember last time?"

Maka barely acknowledged what he said. Something was wrong. Very, very wrong.

"Maka? Hey are you okay?"

"I uh, be right back." Maka ran off and found shelter in the locker room. She settled her breathing and splashed her face with water.

She didn't answer to Kid calling her name and instead looked into the reflection of her eyes in the mirror.

"Maka?! Answer me, what's wrong?" Kid demanded at this point.

"I saw things." She admitted. "It was just my imagination. Don't worry about it."

"Saw things? What things?"

"Nothing Kid. I'm fine." Maka walked passed him and took a peek to make sure no one else was around.

"Maka I need you to tell me. If you're seeing creatures or something unusual, I need to know. Its an urgent matter."

"Kid not now okay. I don't wanna risk getting caught talking to myself. I'm fine, okay?"

The reaper tightened his features with a strong scowl, an expression that was no longer hidden behind the mask. He never should've let her take it from him. Things were starting to get out of hand now that his mask was gone.

"This wasn't a good idea..." He let out in a whisper.

He followed Maka to her locker as her class ended. He picked up on Soul Evans as he made his way to Maka's side.

"Hey bookworm."

Maka closed her locker. "Shouldn't you be headed to history?"

"Eh Mr. Barret can wait. I was wondering what got into you back there?"

"I just got a bit dizzy. Didn't have my dose of caffeine this morning, you know how I get." She laughed under her breath.

"If you say so. You have been acting a bit weird though."

Maka let her eyes drift to the Reaper's figure and back to Soul. "Weird how?"

"Rushing out of school, dozing off in math class which you never do, and don't think I haven't noticed how you take the alleyways now. You always hated the alleys."

She drummed her fingers along her folder. "Just faster way home you know."

The first bell went off.

Soul cleared his throat. "Anyway, there was actually something I needed to ask you."

Maka noted the abnormally serious tone in his voice. She knew it was something important. "What is it?"

"Well-,"

"Soul there you are!"

Maka and Soul looked over at a fellow classmate.

"Hey, uh." Soul frowned.

"I wanted to ask you about,"

Maka looked at the time and began to walk off. "I gotta go Soul. We can talk later okay?"

Maka sped off to biology and found her seat just as the tardy bell rang. Kid sat by her desk with a light pant. She almost forgot about the distance problem.

He threw her a smile and assured that he was okay.

Maka took a breath and got her notebook ready. Mr. Stein was always one for a pop quiz. She was pretty glad the semester was almost over.

Maka drifted her eyes to the board. The lesson for the day was written there as well as the date and any special announcements. What caught her off guard however was the text boxed off by a zigzag bubble to the left of the board. It took her only a moment to read ' _Winter's Year Ending Dance._ '

"Oh great..." She muttered under her breath.

She had been to a few dances before as a casual night out with the gang. But this time was going to be near hell if Soul and the others dragged her with them. Not to mention if she actually danced. She pursed her lips and looked down at Kid for a moment.

Without the cloak hiding him, it could've been said that he was all ready for a dance. His formal attire looked really nice on him. Maka began to imagine what it would be like for him as a normal student. She would be able to talk to him without hiding. They could go to the library and discuss stories together. She wouldn't have to hide him...

"You're dozing off again."

Maka slightly jumped at the sound of Kid's voice so close in her ears. She hadn't noticed that he moved from his spot at the floor. She repaid her attention to the board and jotted down whatever she could.

"Wait..." Maka stopped in the middle of her writing and gazed back at Stein as he answered someone's question.

She closed her eyes and looked again. She obviously wasn't imagining it, but there was some sort of red shine around him. A deep red.

Maka blinked a few times and continued her notes. At this point, she couldn't wait to get home.

She and Kid walked alongside each other as Maka took the alley. Kid continued to scold her from the scene she had caused earlier.

"Maka I need to know what you saw. If you could please stop hiding it from me..."

"I saw a flash of blue. That's really it okay?"

Kid wasn't satisfied. The way he grit his teeth alerted Maka that he wasn't going to take her insolence as an answer. "I don't understand why you choose this time to be secluded. Maka any effects that happen to you are urgent matters. Please, understand that you're mortal. I'm not and my presence could hurt you."

She tried not to remember what she saw back when Soul saved her from a potential basketball bullet. Everyone around her had it. A strange blob of light, each a different color and shape. As if a tiny monster was living inside their souls. Or maybe those colored monsters were their souls. Not to mention the red aura around Stein.

Still, she didn't want to tell Kid. He had been worried that his maskless image would affect her. Maka didn't want him to know that he might be right. It's not like the visions hurt her. It was just scary for first take.

"Maka?" Kid pressed on.

"I told you already. My vision just blurred and I saw blue everywhere. That's it." Her lie caused a pit in her stomach. She would have to tell him soon enough. Even if she didn't want to.

"All right." He exhaled. "I urge you to tell me the truth whenever something doesn't feel normal to you Maka."

"Yeah. Sure thing..."

'

'

I apologize about the delay with this update. My laptop sort of died on me and after no one was able to fix it, I finally got a new one. Good thing all my files are on my email.


	15. Chapter 14: Lover of Roses

Her voice danced with the wind as she spoke.

Kid couldn't suppress his smile and let himself enjoy the humor of her story.

"And after that I fell so hard that I could've sworn I broke my back. Soul and everyone sat and laughed at me instead of helping me. Those idiots."

"Heh, I won't argue with you. Skateboarding is a little challenging." Kid shuffled to his side.

He and Maka had been out for the evening. She had practically begged him for another ride on Beelzebub and who was he to deny? He had to admit, he got a little more than excited. Considering the two of them were laying in a grass field somewhere in Colorado.

Maka breathed in a fresh breath. "Those dorks..."

"Your friends seem lively and warmhearted. I see why you have such faith in them."

She frowned. "But I ignore them just as much. I'm not such a great friend at the moment."

"Not your fault." Kid pressed, practically gesturing to himself with his words. His eyes gloomed toward the ground as he heard Maka shuffle in the grass.

"Don't play guilty. It isn't your fault either." Maka challenged him. Ever since her "incident" in gym class, Kid had started acting secluded and solemn. It was starting to take its toll on her mood. "Let's just talk about something else, okay?"

"It's rather chilly out here." Kid agreed to her ambiance. "I see you've already grown used to such an atmosphere."

"Being around my walking refrigerator all day pays off."

Kid blinked. "I'm the refrigerator, aren't I?"

"Of course! Who else, dork?"

Kid laughed but it quickly came to an end. He couldn't shake his worries away. "You know Maka, I am still a little scared."

"About what?"

"Hurting you. I know I'm not safe for you. And yet we keep making the mistake of bonding like this."

She parted her lips in search for an answer. A fire lit up in her stomach upon seeing Kid's solemn gaze. "Kid you're not a burden to me. You're my friend."

Golden eyes lit up, face stained red like a rose. His voice attempted to fail him but he forced a swallow and replied. "I've never had a friend before."

"You do. For eternity." Maka simply smiled back in reply. The early days with him seemed to have faded. She now settled along the grass, resting her head on her arms. She would have never imagined being so far from home in such little time. Especially with Kid, but it was thanks to him. She just wanted him to feel as content as she did. "It's getting dark." She mentioned. "Perfect to see the stars."

"Yeah."

"You're always staring at them. Do you have a favorite?"

Kid nestled to a comfortable position and relaxed. "All of them. They're all equally beautiful."

"I've always wondered how old they all are. They've been around since the begining, ya know?"

"Easy." The reaper played a smirk. "That one is about three million. That one over there is five million. Eight million. Scratch that, they're all eight million."

Maka giggled at him as he finished tracing along the stars. "What is it with you and eight?"

His spheres of gold met with hers and Maka was glad that it was too dark to see the blush on her face. She shuffled and kept her eyes to the sky.

"It's perfect. Just like the world will be one day. Just like dad told me."

Maka frowned. The night they spoke about the world, her perception of Kid had ultimately changed. He spoke of changing the world and that he was born to complete the task. Maka could only imagine how he planned to do something as grand. And more importantly, why couldn't his father do it?

She turned and faced him. Her eyes strolled upon his features, still marveled by his appearance. She still couldn't believe how human he appeared. Sure he owned the shimmering gold eyes and the strange but natural stripes which adorned his dark hair. Though other than that, he remained a normal teenage boy. It was beautiful in a way. Kid was essentially a god, but he didn't down humans or judge them, instead he wanted to learn from them. He was something far from human, but he desired their company more than anything.

"Maka?"

Maka shook her head. She hadn't realized she was staring. "Sorry. It feels nice to see something other than the black robes and a skull every day. Ya know?"

"I get it. Although it feels unnatural for me." Kid's expression hardened. "I appreciate your enthusiasm Maka, but I don't want to hurt you and I don't think this is safe for you."

"Its okay." She tried her best to assure him. "I mean, what more can happen?"

"I appreciate the change in your attitude Maka. Really I do. But I'm not safe for you." Kid sat up and released a heavy sigh. "I really don't know what good I can do you. I'm your chain, that's all. Just a burden on your poor soul, and the worst part is that you never did anything to deserve this."

Maka widened her eyes in shock. There was no moment when she had heard the reaper speak such emotional words. All she had ever heard from him was uplifting assurance. Maybe taking off the mask was more than just a physical gesture. "Hey, what's with the sudden gloom? This isn't like you. I know things were... different, at first. But I really mean it when I say that it feels amazing to be around you."

Kid didn't respond. Maka sat up and scooted closer to him, reaching for his hand in the process. "Listen, I don't know what it's like to be a reaper. But you've always said that humans are beautiful creatures and all you've ever done is study them. So this curse brought you closer to your dream in a way."

He glared at her, feeling as her hand tightened around his own. "Perhaps you're right." He exhaled.

"Kid." Maka forced their eyes to meet. "You're a living being too. And if you have anything to say, anything to get off your chest, I'm right here. Just like you are for me. You've helped me so much, all in your own little way. I want to help you, too."

He caught her gaze and the two fell into a stare. Kid trailed a hand to swipe a strand of hair from her face. His lips were secured into a frown. "I'm your friend who no one else can see. Doesn't that bother you?"

"Why should it?" She challenged, though her tone was as soft as her gaze on him. "I'm not afraid of you or anything about you. You're like a new book, something I have to read because I want to know the story behind it, and everything in between."

Kid withdrew and fixed his focus back to the sky. His fear of hurting her wasn't as strong as his interest in knowing her. Their interest in each other was mirrored. She was a mystery he was slowly deciphering and he was a story she yearned to read.

Kid laid back in the grass. He was exhausted in thought. He brought Maka here specifically to relax. He figured that he should try and do the same. "You are quite the reader. What is the greatest story you've ever heard?" He asked, eyes kept to the sky with no intention to move.

Maka held in her breath.

It was almost as if a wave of Deja Vu hit her. Like a lifelong memory had finally surfaced for the first time in years. Maka didn't know where it came from. She couldn't explain how she knew, but there was one story. One story that seemed more like a gift rather than a memory.

"Well. It has to do with Life and Death." She began.

His eyes darted in at her. The way she set her expression caught him mysteriously.

"The story of Life and Death. How the two eternal beings loved each other. Life would gift Death every century with an angel. That angel would be a human in disguise, and she would attract Death with her soul. Death could never resist but there was also this fear to him. He couldn't show himself to his angel. Not in his true form. Instead he would gift his angel with a black rose."

The reaper bore his eyes intently into Maka's figure. It was hypnotizing to hear her story. Something made him beg for more.

"The rose would only grow if the angel accepted his love. She always did, and the rose would grow proudly. But no matter how much they seemed to accept each other, in the end, it was always the same conclusion."

"The same how?"

"The same as in-," Maka paused and turned to meet Kid's golden eyes. "The rose would die, along with the mortal angel. Because Death could never accept love eternally. Only briefly. He could never give in to Life because he feared love. And so, the legend of the black rose would summarize Life and Death's entire love. The rose would live long and die hard, because Death could never make love eternal."

Kid sat up and bore his gaze into her with questions. "Where is this story from?"

"I-I don't know." She admitted, sitting up as well. "It just came to me."

"Odd. It's almost as if..."

"As if what?" Her green eyes held a sense of distress, as if she had done something wrong.

Kid didn't want to further his questions. The story baffled him without a doubt. And suddenly, his father's mysteries began to weave together in his head. But Maka distracted Kid before he could ultimately ponder. He looked up as Maka stood to her feet. Her face was solemn instead of relaxed. "Are you all right?"

She nodded. "Yeah. But we should probably get home now before my dad has a panic attack."

"We?"

"Huh?"

Kid got to his feet and answered. "You said we should get home, when you usually say I should get home."

Maka blinked and realized what he meant. "Right. I mean, it kind of is your home in a way."

"You've never mentioned that before." He threw a sly smirk at her which surely caught her off guard. But she was glad to see him back to his senses.

"Hey, don't get too comfortable reaper boy. You're still sitting against the wall when I get home." She retorted.

"Again with I." The reaper continued to tease her. He summoned his board and held his hand out.

"I just want you to know," Maka took his hand. "That I don't care if no one else can see you. I get to ride on a super fast hoverboard and if that isn't a secret worth hiding then I don't know what is." She laughed. Though, Maka also hoped the ride would be slow enough to miss school but she wouldn't count on it.

'

'

"Finally."

Maka shoved her text books in her locker as class ended. She made her way out of the place before the hallways crowded up. She was looking forward to another adventure with Kid. Though, neither of them said much as they walked. Their conversations seemed to have stayed back in time, as neither of them made a real effort to speak to one another since returning home. She only fiddled with her backpack and decided she had had enough silence.

"You've been awfully quiet." She dared to speak.

Kid scratched his head in reply. "I apologize. I have a lot to think about."

"Is it about what we talked about last night?"

"That and... my father. But it's nothing important."

"Kid I told you, if you need to talk, I'm right here. I want to help you if you need it." Maka finished with a yawn, finally letting the desire to sleep catch up to her. She opened her mouth to speak but another voice overrode hers.

"Finally got you alone." Soul met by her side.

"Soul, hey." Maka tried not to sound so down. "No motorcycle today?"

"Nah, don't have money for gas at the moment."

"Of course." Maka chuckled. "New video game?"

"Not exactly. Be it as you may, but I actually bought something for a special occasion."

Maka rose an eyebrow at her white-haired friend. "You? Making a responsible decision? I don't believe it."

"Well maybe you'd believe it if..." Soul halted in front of her and Maka almost ran into him.

"What's wrong?" She asked.

Soul reached into his jacket and took out a rose.

Maka froze. Out of all the things that had happened to her, this one was the one to lock her heart in her chest. The feeling of Kid by her side was more evident than ever. The idea of Kid by her side was more haunting than ever. Roses had filled her mind all day. Black ones. And now the boy who she had known for years, was holding this red rose out to her. Maka felt like the world had stopped in time, as if it were trying to taunt her out of her fantasy.

"Maka, will you go to the dance with me?"

'

'

* * *

I believe its time time to finish what I started.

Thank you, S.S.


	16. Chapter 15: Of Mortality

"I can do this. It's just a dance. Just- a dance."

Maka exhaled and glared at the door in front of her. Warm lights seeped through the small window and she could hear all the chatter coming from within. She reached for the door and pushed it open. Her classmates didn't bother taking notice of her entrance. Their gossip combined with the music was too much a distraction. For most, anyway.

She took weary steps in search of her friends. But she caught onto the sight of wandering eyes. Maka guessed the reason why. She had shown up to a school gathering, in a dress, and with makeup. A rare sight but when Maka decided to go all out, she would make sure to leave her mark. So she inhaled and held a firm pose as she walked amongst the crowd.

"Maka over here!"

Maka shot to her left and saw Soul and the others getting refreshments. She sighed in relief and met them.

"Damn Maka, you look great!" Star flashed a toothy grin at her.

Tsubaki couldn't hold in the urge to compliment her dress either. Maka had to hold in a few blushes. "It's nothing much." She urged. She was hesitant to turn and look at him, but when she did, her gut almost ate itself.

"You look…" Soul didn't finish. The DJ made sure of that as he started the night off with a banger.

"I love this song! Tsubaki let's go!"

Maka kept her view on the two as they left, anything to keep her away from making eye contact with Soul. It wouldn't last her long.

Soul cleared his throat, directing her attention back to him. "Amazing. I was gonna say that you look amazing." He finished.

Maka smiled, still keeping her gaze away from him. "T-Thank you."

"I know it's a little uncomfortable for you. Hell, everyone seems to be staring." Soul took her hand and was finally awarded her eyes. "But let's go have fun. It's your night to let loose."

She focused on everything but the boy in front of her.

She thought the greem lights which draped down from the ceiling were really nice. The paper mache version of the school mascot on the central wall was pretty cool too. Even the refreshments from the table called out to her.

Still, they continued to sway side to side, syncing their footsteps with the crowd around them. Maka zipped her eyes down every time she looked up. She couldn't meet his eyes.

It didn't help that the DJ was playing slow songs either. Maka dreaded the footwork. She counted five times she stepped on her own foot and ten times on Soul's. Though, it wasn't as bad as she imagined. She hadn't fallen over and caused a domino reaction amongst the other dancers yet. Mainly because Soul had saved her every wrong step. For as careless and boyish as he seemed, Soul had some class and style. It was something you would never know unless you asked him the right questions. Maka still remembered talking about his records for the first time. Though she couldn't comprehend much of what he said, but she guessed it felt similar to her love for her books. Then there was the piano playing. It was his little secret, of course. He seemed to become someone different when he played, and Maka knew he didn't do such a thing for just anyone.

"Hey would you look at that." Soul spoke out, saying the first words since they had joined in on the dance. "Star actually got Tsubaki to dance with him."

Maka looked back where Soul was facing. Their two friends seemed like they were having a hard time. Maka assumed it was due to Star's tendency to move on his own.

"I need to teach that boy how to dance." Soul chuckled.

"That'd be something." Maka smiled. She felt Soul's eyes on her, but she still couldn't get herself to look him in the eyes. So she glared at his nose instead.

"Do you think your dad is creeping up on us right now?" He asked.

Maka threw a few gazes amongst the crowd. He was going for small talk, that was a good sign to ease her nerves. "I wouldn't be surprised. It wouldn't be the first time, anyway." Maka giggled.

"I remember the first time Star and I came over. He actually took the door from your room."

"And then he took the recliner and moved it close to my room while he had lunch."

Soul laughed. "Geez that geezer. I dunno how you live with it sometimes."

"You get used to it. Actually, you learn to appreciate it." Maka met a frown to her face for a moment. But she recovered just as the song came to an end.

"Not too shabby." Soul commented. "I'd usually have bruises on my feet by now."

"I still remember what you showed me from the play we did in drama class. So, you're welcome."

"Hey don't get too comfy. You would've fallen a couple of times if not for me."

The next song started.

"Phew. I haven't heard this in ages."

Maka smiled and tried to sync with his footsteps again. She made the mistake of looking to her right. It hadn't been the first time that she was awarded such stares. The real reason finally dawned on to her. Soul was considered a popular guy, after all. There were more than a few girls who had asked him to the dance and here he was with Maka. She knew that his decision had caused some churning stomachs. If only they knew that hers was about to eat itself in guilt.

She and Soul were just friends. Maka was grateful to call him a friend after so long. Of course, there were times when the two had been seen as everything but friends and the school would do their handy work in teasing. But she didn't want to see him any other way. Maka only hoped that he felt the same. Soul was an easy-going guy but reading him wasn't so easy. She knew he was the type to hold back his real feelings and problems. He had pushed away some of his own problems to comfort her when her days first became tragic. Even after pushing he and the rest of the group away, he still fought by her side.

Maka couldn't let that go unnoticed. She didn't. She loved Soul. But her heart didn't hold the intention to love him romantically. He was her best friend.

She shook away the icy glares straightened her back as the song started to quicken. She had to remind herself that it was just a dance and that she was just dancing. Nothing more.

The crowd around them was filled with constant smiles and laughter. Maka wished she was one of the lucky ones holding punch in their hands and not dancing. It proved hard work. It was even harder to avoid their eye contact. She looked at Soul in time to catch him staring. The problem was that he didn't look away.

"You don't need to be so vigilant you know. Everyone's minding their own. Just relax and let the music take you."

Maka chuckled and shook her head. "I'm not much a musical enthusiast like you."

"You don't have to be to sit back and realize that, you're exactly where you need to be. Maka, you've been avoiding me all night. Don't think I don't catch it."

Her face hung low and she looked away by habit. "I-I don't mean to."

A simple "I know" was his reply.

Maka moved her hands along his shoulders with a frown. She didn't want to leave on any bad terms. But he was making it hard to relax. How could she tell him? It wasn't so easy to tell someone, "It's not you. Its the boy no one else can see."

"It's getting pretty chilly in here."

She switched her gaze behind Soul's shoulder, not taking notice of his comment. There he was.

His head turned slowly in all directions, trying to take everything in at once. His eyes were wide and his lips parted as he looked around. Maka felt her stomach jump when Kid met her gaze, breaking a smile across his face.

She told him not to linger around the crowd. But she couldn't blame him. She knew this was phenomenal to him. Just like he was to her.

Her foot lost sync and his arms around her tightened.

"Woah there." Soul said. "The song changed pace. You gotta keep up."

"Sorry. I'm not so used to this Kid."

"Kid? Hey I know I'm sixteen but I ain't no kid. Squirt."

"I-I ain't no squirt." Maka could feel her cheeks flush, damning herself for calling him that name. She returned her sight to Kid. He fluttered amongst the crowd seeming as if he wanted to join in for a number. Kid was full of surprises. It would be no surprise if he knew how to dance better than half the class.

"What are you staring at?" Soul looked behind and back at Maka. "If you want a show, look to our side. Star is practically dragging Tsubaki like a rag doll."

Maka couldn't ignore that and the sight of it was too daunting to look away from. "Should we help them?"

"Nah. They'll be fine." His voice came out soft, but Maka could've mistaken it for annoyance. She was frustrating him.

She felt his arms tighten around her. "Just dance with me. Out of all the bad stuff that has gone on in your life, let at least one good thing happen to you." Maka felt his hair brush against her ear as he practically hugged her. She returned the gesture, feeling the tears make their way to her eyes. Her stomach ran uneasy and she realized she made a mistake. She was holding her best friend who didn't want to be. He wanted her to let him in. But she wouldn't. Her crazy life had led her to something good already. Maka knew she was crazy for even thinking of it in such a way.

The truth was, Soul was with the wrong person tonight and Maka was in the wrong arms.

She lost herself in the sight of Kid in front of her. The moment she realized that Soul had moved, it was too late. She caught him in a stare for mere seconds. His eyes slowly drew closed and he exhaled a shaky breath before he let himself come closer.

Maka's breath was lodged in her throat. Out of the two choices she could make, she chose the one that would leave her on bad terms this night.

She let go of him.

"Soul." Maka shook her head, resisting the tears in her eyes. Soul I'm sorry. I'm sorry!" She was sure her new nickname was going to be "Runaway" but she didn't care. She had to leave before something worse would happen.

'

Kid was just settling in before his chest seared in pain. Once Maka was nowhere in sight, he zipped out of the place in search of her. He found Soul at the doorway just before he exited, his back to the door in defeat. Kid frowned and went on to catch her down the street.

She kept her gaze to the sidewalks and hid back the frustration in her eyes. But the empathy from her soul wouldn't hide anything from the reaper.

Kid cleared his throat, hesitant to speak. But if he didn't, she wouldn't be okay. "He deeply cares for you."

"Yeah I know." Maka responded in a quiet voice, trying to let the reaper know that she didn't want to speak. But instead, Kid continued to unknowingly annoy her. "So why did you reject him?"

Maka halted and kept a blank stare to the night streets. "It's not like that with us. We're great friends, that's all. I don't like him that way..." She continued walking. Kid was a talking machine that wouldn't shut up once he got going. She just wasn't sure how to respond to what he would say next.

"Is it because of us?"

There was a pause, leaving nothing but deadly ambience as they stood alone in the streets. Maka bit her lip and sighed. There was no doubt that her mind had lingered on the thought all night. Or for the last few days even. It was a crazy thought, and she just left her best friend because of it. Maka just wasn't sure how daring her feelings actually were. "I-I want to believe that it's not..."

"Why?"

Maka shot the reaper a notable mask of anger. "What do you mean why? You're a grim reaper, a god! What could you possibly want with a mortal?" The ridiculousness of her feelings were let out, and there was no going back.

Kid tilted his head and rose an eyebrow. "Are you saying gods aren't capable of love?"

"Love is the art of a mortal Kid. It's something that your type wouldn't typically need." Maka wiped her tears. "Its not ridiculous to you? That some human would even think of you like that?"

Kid took a step closer to the girl. His golden gaze attempted to meet hers but she refused, until he met his hands to her face and forced their unity. "Maka, I am everything but a lie. I have flesh and bone like a mortal. We aren't so different, you and I. This heart in my chest tells me so." Kid leaned his head and let his forehead rest upon hers, trailing his arms around her waist in the process. "I am very capable, of this art of mortality."


End file.
